The Phoenix Rises
by fifthapocalypserider
Summary: It wasn't the end. It was only the start. Bellwether was only a figurehead, led by a patient mammal, ready to strike at any time. And he stroke, by the time no one at the ZPD was prepaired for it. But the ZPD got help from the most unexpected side. Was it enough to prevent the mammal from taking control of Zootopia? (rated M for later chapters)
1. Chapter 1

_**Hello reader!**_

 _ **First, I should explain why this story is rated M.**_

 _ **Well... Sex, drugs, graphical violence, gore, torture..**_

 _ **Yeah. What is left to explain?**_

 _ **Have fun reading!**_

 _ **(End sori for maj bat inglisz)**_

 **Chapter 1**

Roy Wenson looked out of the cabin and lowered his window. He turned the engine off, unpinned his belt and leaned out of the cabin, giving the sheep his pass. He tried to act like he was just another normal mammal, passing by. Ito was hard. His heart beat like crazy, his skin sweated hard and his whole body shaked nervously. Fortunately for him, he was able to control it a little bit, so the guard couldn't see anything. He reached his paw to the air conditioning control and lowered the temerature a bit. He thanked the God or whoever was up there for his idea to cover his sweating by Sahara Square natural temperature.

The sheep guarding the gate frowned. She looked at the pass and then at the weasel. Then she gave it back.

"Sorry, your pass is incorrect. You can't go through." she said and sat on her chair, ignoring the weasel

"What do you mean? I have all stamps, all necessary permits and all signatures I need to pass through here! You have no right to hold me!"

The sheep sighed and slowly stood up "What do you transport?"

The weasel calmed himself. That sheep obviously didn't want him in. She didn't have any proof, but he was a predator. That was enough for her.

He hated this type of mammals. Selfish, arrogant and stupid. Always offended for a thing his ancestors did more than a milion years ago. Always ready to say that predators are ready to slash their throats right open. And all predators were sure they were upset with Bellwether unmasked.

"It's written right here." he said, showing her his pass "See? My whole cargo is only five crates full of vegetables, right from Bunny Burrows."

"Any proof if anything you're saying is true?"

"It's written by ZTaMA! What else do you need? FBI's permission?" the weasel replied, getting frustrated

"That would be nice. Drug cartels are on the agenda there."

"Yeah, I can imagine potential buyers from the city hall ordering drugs from dirty low-lifes. Probably doing it all the time." he replied

"I just needed a proof! I knew it!" she said and started to call 911

"Can't you understand a joke? And can you fucking check that pass already?" the weasel interrupted her and leaned back on the seat

"Hmm..." was only thing he had for the reply

The sheep took his pass again and opened hers writing pad full of every authorised stamp and signature in Zootopia. The weasel leaned back and started to calm himself. Okay. Keep it cool... Last thing you need right now is anger that bitch... He looked in his mirrors, afraid he would see mammals wearing black leather jackets'Nothing now. Good. If they appear I'm so fucked...'The weasel made sure the sheep wasn't looking and leaned for his pocket. It was still there. His glock, ready to fire at any second, covered with a plastic bag in case someone would smell the gun oil. There was no need to use it now. But he was sure he would have to do it.

Meanwhile the sheep gave his pass back, saying:

"Looks good, but behave, you're in Zootopia now. We'll have an eye for you." she said and unlocked the gate leading to the parking just next to biggest building in Zootopia

"Yeah, whatever." the weasel replied, pressing the gas pedal

He relaxed. Everything was good. He finally was in his destination, he got the cargo there and none of them appeared. For him - it was just perfect. He parked the truck and looked at his clock. He was a bit too early. But he didn't care. Only thing that crossed his mind now was he was alive and no one suspicious mammals appeared. He rested a bit, closing his eyes.

"Nice truck."

He slowly opened his eyes "You don't mind I'm too early?" he said and looked out of the window

He regret it immediately. He didn't want to see that. An antelope, black leather jacket, black glasses and an orange scarf, probably overlying a medallion. Hoofs in his pockets, probably hiding a weapon there. And on top of that a giant musculature and a broken horn. Great. They are here. He thought and instinctively checked if his pistol was still in his pocket. It was there. Good. He looked around, for both help and to made sure no more mammals in black leather jackets would appear.

"Well, friend... I suggest you get your paw off the pistol immediately, or there will be another patient in the hospital with multiple arm bone breaks. In the best condition. Am I clear?" he said, with his eyes behind the glasses

But the weasel didn't want to see his eyes. He did what the antelope wanted and put his paws in the air.

"Put your paws down you dumb fuck, it's suspicious as hell!" the antelope hissed and moved closer to the truck "On the dashboard." he ordered

Weasel's vision was blurred, his paws shook and his mind run away and hid in the darkest corner of his brain. He knew who wore themselves like that. The Phoenix. He was most likely dead soon after the antelope taking him to some secluded place and then just a bullet to the back of the head. The weasel didn't want that. He thought fast, many unreasonable plans formed in his mind in seconds. But then one of the simples came to him. Just press the gas pedal and drive away.

And he did it. But he underrated the anthelope. He never thought his reflexes would be so fast and he would jump that fast. The anthelope reacted in the matter of seconds. He just jumped, grabbed the door and forced the weasel out of that truck. Roy was shocked. He didn't even try to fight back. He never saw anything like that in his career. The anthelope was too fast for any normal mammal.

He hit the parking lot hard, rolling a few meters before he stopped. His back was hurting like hell, his phone probably was broken and blood pulsed in his veins, filling his bloodstream with adrenaline. With his corner of the eye he spotted the anthelope pointing his gun at him. Then he heard a bang. And then he felt a shooting pain in his chest.

* * *

"Holy shit! Did you see that?" Nick shouted pointing at something out of the window

Judy didn't have to see. A second later she heard a gunshot, coming from the right. She immediately pushed the brake and looked out of the window. She couldn't believe her eyes. An anthelope shoot a weasel on the safest parking in Zootpia. She didn't waste any more time. She kicked the door and jumped on the walkway. She run as fast as she could and that was some speed.

It was certain that the guard hadn't had a chance. The anthelope didn't use his pistol, he just grabbed her neck and threw her on the asphalt. He didn't give a chance to any of the mammals rushing towards him, either. He just started running, with a speed hard to compete with. But both Nick and Judy weren't just some weak mammals. They run just after him, using all the muscles they had, all the speed in their legs.

Judy grabbed her radio and reported: "Dispatch, this is officer Hopps, we have an anthelope with a gun on Round street and a victim, chasing the target. He is running south, send backup immediately!"

"Got it!" a short answer came

Judy didn't answer. She put her radio back and prepared her tranquilier. The anthelope ran in a cul-de-sac. He was between two brick walls and gauze. The only way out was blocked by Nick and Judy. He had literally no esacpe. Nick probably saw that too, because he took his tranq gun too. But the duo didn't know who were they dealing with.

The anthelope didn't even stop, he just bounced back from the gauze and lifted him over it. He didn't even slowed down, like he had it trained. But Nick knew exactly what to do. He turned around and offered Judy a boost. She didn't thought twice. She just sped up and used Nick's help to jump over it. She rolled while landing and continued chasing the anthelope.

She had to admit - that bastard was smart. He ran into a crowd of mammals, making himself almost invisible. If not his broken horn Judy would have probably missed him.

"ZPD! Out of the way!" she shouted while sliding through the crowd

She had one crucial ability. While the criminal had to sqeeze thorugh the crowd she was able to run faster, only avoiding the legs. It wasn't easy but it was a lot faster than sqeezing through all of them.

Judy looked around, searching for her partner. 'Looks like I'm on my own now...'She thought and countinued running. She heard some 'Hey, was that officer Hopps?' and 'OMG this is really her!' but she ignored most of them. She had a job to do.

She smiled. The anthelope ran towards a dead end. This time even parkour couldn't save him. She prayed he wouldn't turn left. If he would he could escape. But then her prayers were heard. She spot her partner rushing toward the anthelope from his left side. He had no escape route now.

He ran into the alley and disappeared in the dark in there. Judy slowed down a bit and walked to the entrance. Nick was already waiting there.

"So, carrots..." he said "...ladies first?" he asked, grinning

Judy chuckled "In your dreams. I need a big bad predator as a meatshield!"

Nick's smile dropped a bit "What would you do if that big bad predator would..." he came closer "...eat the criminal?" he ended, grinning widely

Judy burst out laughing "First, we have to catch him. Let's go Nick!" she ordered entering the alley

Nick followed her, pulling out his tranq gun. The alley was a standard alley like every other dead-end-like alley. Some destroyed walls, trash everywhere and broken glass here and there. He stepped carefully, he certainly didn't want any glass in his feet. Aspecially that glass...

Judy was in front of him, her ears perked from time to time, searching for any signs of the anthelope. He was sure she would have heard him if he would prepare a trap. But he surprised them once again.

He hid behind a big container and held his breath until he saw Judy. Then he used his strongsl legs to kick her, very powerful. She flew, hitting against a brick wall, yelping in pain. He then jumped opposite to Nick and kicked his gun out, his left hoof started to fly against fox's head. But he didn't calculate one thing. The fox got angry.

When Nick saw Judy flying and then heard her yelping in pain his adrenal started pumping noradrenaline into his bloodstream. So called by a mammal he wanted to forget 'A hormone of a fighter'. It was a matter of seconds when his heart filled his whole body with this hormone. Soon after that time slowed down for him. He quickly dodged anthelope's attack and then countered it, totally forgotting about his tranq gun. His left paw his the anthelope's face, right after that his right joined and then left smashed against his face again. But Nick stopped there, jumping back and prepaining for the next attack.

And yes, he was angry. He was just able to control himself, so he wouldn't do anything stupid. He saw how that anthelope kicked Judy. It wasn't some ordinary, improvised attack. It was a trained move, he saw his fluency. No useless moves, no epithets towards him. Only focus, skill, strength and even more focus.

Suddenly, the anthelope jumped forward, decreasing the distance between them in seconds. But Nick was ready for it. He stepped back a bit and dodged another hit. And another. And then he hit. But he missed, the anthelope was ready for it. Just after that the fox moved towards the anthelope, contracted, dodging a left cross and hit the mammal in his solar plexus.

It worked, way better than Nick thought. The anthelope immediately groaned and fell on his knees, giving Nick an advantege. And Nick didn't waste it.

He attacked with a cross, wrenching his body, so he multiplied the force of the hit. When his paw contacted the anthelope's face he knew it probably was the most perfect hit he ever did in his life. The criminal fell on the fround, totally blacked out. He made sure the anthelope didn't fake it, pawcuffed him and jumped to his partner.

"Oh my God, Judy!" he cried in panic, when he saw blood on her face

He quickly checked if she was breathing, moved her out of the garbage bags and placed her in place he knew she wouldn't feel uncomfortable.

He had to say, it wasn't good, but he expected it to be a lot worse. Well, for an anthelope's hoof... The cut on her face wasn't serious. He had happened to cut himself even worse. He calmed and wondered what should he do next.

Just after that he heard several footsteps, like some bigger mammals were entering the alley.

"Hopps? Wilde? Are you there?" he heard Delgato's voice

He stood up and called them back "Yeah! I dealt with that criminal! But Judy is injured!"

Delgato entered the alley, with officer Grizolli behind him. He looked on the yelping anthelope and then at Nick. Then again at the anthelope.

"Wait... You kicked his ass?" he asked

"Yup. Don't think he would wake up in the next ten minutes." Nick relied coming closer to Delgato "Is there an ambulance nearby? That fucker shot a mammal like a minute ago."

Delgato nodded "Don't worry about him. The medics came even faster than us."

Grizolli growled "Did he do that to Hopps?"

Nick looked at Judy "Yeah."

"I swear to God, Bogo will murder him..." he said

Nick just shrugged "Can you carry him to the parking?" he asked

Delgato came closer to the anthelope "No problem." he said and flipped him over his shoulder

The parking was occupied by three ZPD cruisers and a one ambulance. Nick walked in there, carrying Judy, with Dlegato and Grizolli on his back. When they reached the ambulances Delgato threw the anthelope on the groud, not caring much about what would happen to him.

Soon, a moose medic aproached them "Everything good? No one hurt?" he asked

"Well, actually, officer Hopps got beaten. She hit a brick wall, 'cause that bastard" Nick pointed at the anthelope "kicked her. She has a little cut on her forehead and I don't know if that's serious."

Medic nodded and ordered to put the rabbit on the stretcher nearby. He checked everything, while Nick and both other officers chatted and passed time. It didn't take long. The moose walked past them and told:

"Everything's alright. She's awake and you can get back to the HQ."

"What about that weasel?" Nick asked "You know, that one who got shot."

"He's fine. Lucky guy. He put a kevlar under his clothes. It ended only with some broken ribs."

Nick looked at the weasel being put into an ambulance "Why is he wearing a neck brace then?"

"In every case we assume a spine injury. But from what we know he hit the ground preety hard, so it's very possible that he would have something shifted there. Now, if you excuse me, I've got to go." he said, turned around and drove away

"Well..." Grizolli said "Looks like we have to go to, right?"

"Yup." Nick replied "Nothing left to do here. Who takes the criminal?"

"We'll do it." Delgato answered

"Okay. See you at the HQ then!"

The fox shook paws with both Grizolli and Delgato and then walked past Judy, who was already sitting in their crusier. He jumped into the car, started the engine and spoke to the rabbit aside him.

"You alright carrots?"

"Yeah, I'm good Judy replied, with a bit weak voice "Don't worry slick, I'm fine."

"You sure?" Nick asked with curiosity and concern in his voice

Judy's ears perked a bit. Why is he so caring about me? She was confused.

"Yeah Nick, it's only a scratch. Can we go already?" she asked with a bit of annoyance in her voice

Nick looked down "Yeah, sure." he said and pressed the gas pedal

'Great. Why was I so curious? Now she is annoyed. Great job Wilde.' He decided not to talk with her partner until they get to the station. But it didn't take long, it wasn't too far away. When they got there they immediately went to their office.

"So, Nick" Judy said when they entered the office "what do you think about that action?"

Nick pressed a button on the coffeemaker "I dunno. Really. I don't think anyone would do such thing in a middle of the town, without a serious reason. That weasel surely didn't do anything legal. If he was then no one would attack him."

Judy sat on her chair "You sure? That anthelope might just wanted revenge for something."

"Want a coffee?" the fox asked

Judy smiled "Yeah, sure."

"You got it. And back to the topic... Did you even see his gun? It wasn't just some junk, it really was a trimmed pistol. And the silencer wasn't only to decorate it too. It has to be something bigger whiskers."

"We'll see Nick. We'll see..." Judy replied

She was sure nothing serious would happen in three months since the official endof the missing mammals case after Nick's graduation. She would bet on a half of a year, maybe even a year... But three months? She was certain nothing would happen. But that... Nick was right. No one ever would shoot another mammal in a broad daylight, without a really good reason. Or that was an exception - or it was the beggning to something bigger, maybe even bigger that the missing mammals case. And a crime like the missing mammals case was a scandal that didn't happen in Zootopia in years...

"You know that three new recruits are arriving tommorow?" Nick interrupted her thoughts

Judy blinked "Sorry, I zoned out. What did you say?"

"Three new recruits are arriving tommorow. Did you know about that?"

"Yeah, I've heard about it. Hope they would be good cops." she replied

"Have you ever thought about yourself and only yourself?" Nick asked

"Well... I think not."

Nick sighed and took both cups of coffee. He gave one to Judy and drank the other one himself. He liked coffee and the coffeemaker he brought with him was making very good one. They would proabably spend the rest of the day talking and doing paperwork. But chief found them another task.

"Come in!" Nick said, when he heard knocking to their office door.

Door opened and officer Wolfard came in. He looked around and said:

"Whatcha doin'?"

"Nothing particular." Judy replied "Why do you ask?"

The wolf sighed "It's 'bout that anthelope you catched. He states that if he ever would talk he would talk only with you two."

Nick looked at Judy "So, do we get info out of the criminal, partner?"

Judy smiled "Yeah, why not? We hadn't had much to do anyway."

"I guess you don't need a guide?" Wolfard asked

"Do you teach infants how to brathe?" Nick asked

"You're right. It was a stupid question." Wolfard replied

"Let's go then!" Judy said and jumped down on the floor

They exited their office and went to the interrogation rooms. They were in the deepest part of the building, right next to the cells. When they got there they saw the anthelope right behind the one-way mirror. He was looking exactly at them.

"Does he know if we are here?" Judy asked

"No. I think that he only assumes it." Delgato answered, entering the hallway they were in

After they greeted Delgato they entered the recording room of the first interrogation section.

"So, do you have any trouble with him?" Nick asked

Delgato nodded "He's a tough bastard. When we left he woke up and tried to escape."

"He had no chance though." Judy noticed

"He almost made it. Grizolli has a black eye, a big cut on his forehead and some bruises now and he almost stunned me."

"Has he said anything yet?"

"No. Nothing interesting. He knows how to talk and not say anything accidentally. He has made some interesting stories too and trust me, if we weren't experienced we would believe him."

"He said that he would only talk with us too, right?" the fox asked

"Yup." Delgato nodded

"Let's go then!" Judy said and opened the interrogation room door

The duo entered it, changing their face expressions to bored and annoyed. They slowly walked towards the gray metal table and sat on the two chairs. The anthelope didn't care. He just looked at them and then closed his eyes and folded back on the chair.

"So, what do you want from me?" he broke the silence

"Guess!" Nick answered "You've just shot a mammal! What would we want from you?"

"I dunno. Probably buy a carpet."

"Why?" Judy asked

"You've catched a wrong person. I'm only a simple merchant. I went to that alley to reduce the time. Then I've heard you fucking busting in and I hid. Ain't there any fucking robbers?"

Nick laughed "Good one!" he said, pretending to wipe his tears "Really good one!"

"We have cogent proof. What do you choose: camera footage, eyewitnesses, DNA stamps... Choose whatever you want!" Judy added

Anthelope sighed "You won't let me go, do you?"

"We will. We'll get you coffee, some money, apologise and give you a car!" Nick replied

Ludy grinned "Okay, so will you talk?"

"Let's make a deal." The anthelope answered

"I'm all ears." Judy replied, not paying attention to laughing Nick

"I tell you whatever you want - you let me go and give me back my medallion, my scarf, my jacket and my vial."

Delgato immediately came to sorted anthelope's stuff and began searching it once again, but this time more careful. He looked in every pocket, every possible hidden place. He's soon found it. The vial was small, made out of metal, probably aluminium, but it still had a little bit of glass, which allowed to see how much liquid was in it.

When he looked through the glass he felt his heart speeding up. That shade of blue... Unmistakable. Night howlers. He quickly called the chief. No matter what was he doing now. He HAD to know about this. An anthelope with night howlers, shooting a mammal in a broad daylight...

'And beating three officers.' He rubbed a giant bruise on his shoulder. He didn't forget about Grizzolli. The bear had a cut on his forehead, now it probably was stitched.

'And let's do not forget. Hopps and Wilde...' He felt a cold shiver while he imagined what that criminal could do with them. Of course, they were trained, but he saw the anthelope's agility and strength...

* * *

"So they catched him." a quiet, but strong voice spoke out of the darkness

It was more of a ascertain than a question. The mammal sitting on the other side of a big, mahogany desk often started canveraations like that. Not asking. Ascertaining. And his ascertains were always correct.

"You all know what to do. Marc gets in, finds out about you-know-what and you get him and the prisoner back." the mammal went quiet for a second "What has happened then?"

Now was the time for answering. The buck spoke:

"The great four broke territorial establishment."

The buck didn't see the face of his converser, but he knew his maw has dropped. The silence lasted for some time. Then he spoke:

"Why and how?"

 _The fun starts now..._ The buck thought and then answered:

"They transported drugs through black zone. Five Sj's, mostly cocaine. From our data we also know they transported marijuana, THC, LSD and heroin."

"Purge."

Buck's ears dropped "You don't mean..."

"Yes, I do! To prevent the fucking bloodshed we made a deal! We warned them! All of them! They knew what is going to happeen now! The purge."

Buck didn't answer.

"Not now. We have to wait after some time. When they'll lose their caution. Am I clear?"

"Yes."

"Good. Dismissed."


	2. Chapter 2

_**Hello again!**_

 _ **It had been a while, hadn't it?**_

 _ **Well, I really did keep you waiting, so sorry for that, but you know...**_

 _ **Computer won't**_ _ **play games for me** **-** **\\_(ツ)_/-**_

 _ **Anyways, here is the newest chapter!**_

 _ **Enjoy!**_

 **Chapter 2**

Chief rushed trhrough the hall, nervously checking the time. He passed by some officers, shook some paws, said some 'hellos' and 'good mornings' and then continued walking.

"I swear to God, if Delgato was joking he'll get parking duty to the rest of the year..." he muttered, while entering the interrogation section of the ZPD

Delgato already waited for him there. He salluted and then showed the vial to the chief.

"Damn." Bogo said when he took it "So you weren't joking."

Delgato grinned "Chief I might joke a lot, but not in situations like this one!" his face expression turned serious "But what do we do with it now?"

Bogo didn't answer. He stared at the vial, turning it in multiple directions, looking for one certain engravered sign. He spent some time doing it, but at least he found it.

A large, orange bird, stretching its wings to the sides, framed by red-yellow flames. He knew this sign so well.

"Yeah, it's gonna get interesting soon..." he muttered and then spoke to Delgato "Did Hopps and Wilde got out of the interrogation room?"

Delgato nodded "As soon as I've ended calling you I ordered them to go out of there."

"Good. Where are they?"

"In their office, I guess. I'm not sure."

"Okay. Now go home and get some rest. Looks like this case is going to take some time..." Delgato nodded and went up the stairs

"Now to that Phoenix guy..." Bogo muttered

He went past wending machine, one technician and opened the door to the interrogation room. When he opened the door he saw Wolfard, slowly drinking coffee.

"Hello chief." he said "You want to interrogate him now?"

"Would be good." Bogo answered as he walked in the room

Wolfard nodded, put his coffee on the table and opened the door for chief. Just after that he closed it, put headphones on his head and started recoeding.

"Well, looks like I'm famous! Officer Hopps with officer Wilde, now the chief of the precinct one himself! How nice."

The anthelope didn't look like he gave a damn. He was fully relaxed, unstrained and looked like it was just another normal day. Bogo knew that if the anthelope had something to drink he would drink it now, very slowly, to annoy him. Bufallo sat opposite the anthelope and cleared his throat.

"What do ya want from me?" the criminal interrupted him

"Well, for first maybe enlighten me with your name."

"Why would I?" he said and then grinned

"It would be less annoying than trying to squeeze it out from you and it would make your situation a bit better." Bogo grin, but with a face expression that could kill "So, will you cooperate or not?"

Anthelope snorted "Do you think you'll scare me? I'm not afraid of death."

"And who said about death? We're not going to torture you either. It just would be nice if you told me your name."

"Let's say I'm Marcus. What's next?"

Bogo knew he was provoking. He was trying to anger him, only to make him attack. And then he would say 'Police did that, without any reason! Do you still believe I did anything bad?'

"Nothing! I just know your god damn name!" he tried not to shout

"Jesus. Chill down."

"So, Marcus. Why did you shot that guy? Roy Wenson, if I'm correct?"

"Why did you sent offcer Hopps and officer Wilde away? Do you think they are worse? You still think a bunny and the ZPD doesn't match?"

 _Another provocation..._

"I ask, you answer, okay?"

"No. Let's play a game. You ask a question and I answer, but you have to answer my question then."

"What if I don't trust you?"

"Then you'll have to outtalk me. And believe, you'd better clean dirtiest street in Zootopia with your own tounge rather than trying to do it. I know what annoys you chief. I met to many mammals who were interrogated by you."

Bogo sighed "Looks like I have no choice."

Anthelope grinned "So, I shot him, because we didn't like him transoprting through our territory."

Bogo pursed his eyebrows "What 'we'?"

"Nonono, now's your turn chief. The question's still the same."

"I saw your vial. Or maybe better - what was inside it."

Anthelope snorted once again "Pussy."

Bogo ignored him "Why didn't you like him transporting through your territory?"

"Have you heard about the five conference?"

"The bufallo sighed "Yes, an agreement made by five main crime organisations in Zootopia. The Phoenix, Sliver Paws, Mr Big's Mafia, Prides and Night Guardians."

"The Prides broke the agreement, transporting Silver Paws's load, with Mr Big's truck. What about now?"

Bogo nodded "That makes sense."

"Okay. My turn now. What was the amount of drugs transported to the city hall two weeks ago?" he grinned innocently

"Are you on high or something?"

"You know, that truck with a pass from Prey Rights Council. Weight of it's cargo."

"Fifty kilograms. The interrogation is over." Bogo stood up and walked out of the room "Take him to his cell!" he ordered to Wolfard while walking out of the interrogation room

 _I've gotta look closer in these reports from Black..._ He thought as he entered his office

"Come in!"

Delgato entered Judy and Nick's office. It looked like they were chatting, their computers were off and they were drinking coffee. The lion smiled. They always looked so adorable. But he saw how deadly they could be together.

"Chief told you to go home."

"Why?" Judy asked with concern in her voice

"I dunno. He said something like there's going to be a lot of work soon, so..."

"Yes!" Nick said and stood up from his chair "I won't be late!"

"For what?" Delgato asked

"Fin invited me to a party. There will be some of my old friends, so I'm looking forward to it!" he sounded very excited

"You still keep up the old contacts?" Judy asked

Nick just grinned "I told you, I know everyone here." he jumped out of his chair and took his bag "See you tommorow!" he said while exiting the office

Delgato followed him with his eyes and turned around, just to see Judy turning her computer off.

"You're leaving too?" he asked

"What else do I have to do?" she shrugged and exited her office "Goodbye Delgato!"

He waved her and went to his own office.

 _So, what now?_ Judy thought as she exited the ZPD HQ and walked to her apartment. It was a very nice afternoon. Birds sung, sun shone and air was surprisingly clean today. She picked her earbuds put them in her ears and turned her music on. She walked with the crowd happily, fully enjoying the day. Whe nshe got to her apartament sun was starting to go down. She opened the door and walked in.

It wasn't the apartement she recieved at her first day in the ZPD. When her salary went up she moved wherever she could. She was sick of noisy neighbours and eating mostly fast food. Her new apartement wasn't specially better but it fit her demands perfactly. With separated bedroom, kitchen and a bathroom it already felt like a heaven for her, compared with her earliest apartament. She went to her bedroom to change her outfit to something better.

When she did it she went to her kitchen and ate supper. Shortly after that she put dishes in the dishwasher and turned it on.

She really had nothing to do. She didn't want to call her parents. The y would probably ask her many questions she didn't want to answer right now. She just wasn't in the mood.

After a while she decided to watch a movie. She made popcorn, change to her pyjamas and sat on her sofa. After some time wondering she decided to watch a documentary about bank robberies.

"I wonder if Nick's having fun at the moment." she muttered, while turning the movie on

* * *

The fox opened the door of the bar in Nocturnal district and looked around.

Ben's was always busy. The biggest bar or pub in the middle of the Nocturnal district was also the biggest place for parties in whole Zootopia. Anyone who seeked fun or wanted to get laid was in there.

 _Maybe not today..._ Nick thought when he passed some drunk vixens, literally looking for someone and not caring who would it be. The fox circled for a while, looking for his friends. But they found him first.

"Wilde!" he head a roar and then he felt a very strong slap on his back

"Well, hello Gerard. You sure still have that back-breaking trust in your paw." he said, trying to catch his breath

The lion laughed "We missed you Wilde. It ain't fun without ya! Follow me, I know where the rest of us is."

Nick followed his friend through the crowd of mammals. Even though he barely did it he knew it wasn't the best of the bar. In spring festival it could be even worse. He just followed the lion, who just walked forward, using his weight to pass through. It was exactly the same trick he used when he first met Judy.

"Here we are!" the lion said and sat on the chair near the table

"Told you I will bring him there!" Nick knew this voice

"Finnick." he greeted the fennec fox and looked around him

Looked like every one of his best friend came here. Without Finnick and Gerard he could count four more mammals. Owen - a golden retriever, Henry - a wolf and two foxes - Peter and Daniel who also were twins. Right now Owen was writing something on his phone, Henry just sad and looked like he was bored to death and Peter and Daniel were arm wrestling. Nick smiled and sat on the closest chair.

"Looks like the party hasn't got rolling yet? Imma right?" he said and smiled

"You're damn right." Henry replied and put a deck of cards on a table "Who wants to play?"

Gerard laughed "You're going to win anyway! Why do you even ask?"

"I'm bored. You still didn't order any drinks."

"Come on dude! Can you have fun without any alcohol?" Owen asked and put his phone down

"Well, he drinks vodka from cups, so..." Nick said

All six mammals laughed "That's why I love partying with Wilde!" Owen said

"How's going guys? Anything all right?" Nick asked

"Yeah! Silver paws are quiet, Prides don't stick thier noses outta their territory, Mister Big's mafia is doing it's things and Night guardians cooperate! Nothing to fear!" Peter said and pinned Daniel's arm to the table "You lost! Pay up!"

Daniel sighed and gave fifty bucks to Peter who looked like he just met Santa Claus "You'll see, soon I'm gonna bet ya..."

"But now you're losing and you're the one who pays up!" Peter relied and hid the money to his wallet "And how are you Wilde? Are you really a police officer?"

Nick didn't answer. He just showed his badge to his fellows.

"So you weren't joking." Fin said

"You really have balls to come here with that." Owen said

Nick didn't answer again. He just showed his a chain around his neck.

"Seriously? You still haven't thrown that away?" Finnick asked "I thought it reminded you of her, didn't it?"

"Fuck her, really." Nick answered "She isn't worth my attention. And my troubles."

"You still didn't forgive her?" Henry asked

"If my life would look like yours, you know, eat, work, drink, fuck, sleep, repeat then I might forgave her." Nick answered, trying to break through others laughter

"It - it wasn't only about her using him Henry." Peter said still laughing a bit "It was mostly about her trying to become his girlfriend after that, thinking a single 'sorry' would be enough."

"Oh. It really was like this?" Henry asked "If that was like it then fuck her! Just like Wilde said."

"Yeah, it was like that. Can we abandon the subject now?"

"Of course. How does your work look? Chases, ladies and looking for clues? Or dounuts, coffee and paperwork?" Gerard asked

"Drinks are here!" Henry said and took them from wolf waitress "Thank you sweetheart." he said and smiled

"Looks like someone wants to get laid tonight!" Nick said when Henry sat on his chair

Henry just shrugged "I can't break my routine."

All mammals laughed "See guys? I'm not the only one who jokes around!" Nick said

"But you're the only one who pushes it forward in Alpha group."

Nick knew that voice. He knew, but he really wanted to forget it. Not because he was ungrateful. By knowing that voice he was unloyal to the ZPD.

He looked around. Just like he suspected. An arctic wolf, wearing a black leather jacket, wearing an orange scarf, with a stabilizer around his right knee. He also had a impressing musculature and some grey strips meant he probably was in his late thirties.

"Can I join?" he asked

"Of course!" Finnick replied "What brings you here by the way?"

Wolf sat on the chair "I just wanted to take a walk."

"With your knee? You're really or sick or really persistent." Owen said

"You know, it ain't so bad so I can't really walk. It hurts a bit, but you can stand it. Anyway, how's going Fin? Pawpsicle business still good?" Wolf asked

Finnick shrugged "Somehow I'm in the black, but it's really a tough one. Thanks Nick."

Fox just shrugged "My offer is still prevailing Finnick. All you have to do is to say 'Yes'." wolf said

"It's really worth it, trust us Fin." Henry added and took a sip from his cup

"So you really drink vodka from cups..." Daniel said

"He ain't a pussy like you." Peter replied

"Look who's talking! One mug and you lay under the table!"

"Guys, I think Fin didn't bring us here to quarrel." Gerard said

"Right. So for our friendship!" Finnick said, raising his mug up

"Yeah!" everyone answered, raidsed their cups up and then drunk their content

"Well, they serve good beer here." Nick said when he drunk all of his drink

"You still remember this club? Oh dude... That was a ride..." Fin said with a dreamy grin

Wolf's eyebrow rose up "Good ride? In here? Nocturnal district? Guess you've never been to Mount Olympus..."

"What's Mount Olympus?" Geard said, really interested

Wolf's eyebrow rose up "Officially - a luxurious bar in the center of Zootopia. Informally - probably the most expensive bat house in Zootopia. If you have a lot of money and are into all of this romantic bullshit you can or hire and fuck someone while some musicians are ripping with their violins right next to you or bring someone with you and fuck this person in some other romantic way. Or in non-romantic... Anyways, the choice is enormous and they make a LOT of money on that." wolf replied

"Have you been there?" Henry asked

"Once. And I didn't pay. Some business meeting... I don't recommend going there, if you don't want to impress someone. There are a lot of other, cheaper options which sometimes are better."

"Wait. Business meeting?" Owen asked

"Officially a bar. And offcials believe that. Or they pay them to believe."

"Both options are possible and both options wouldn't surprise me if they were true." Nick said

Gerard laughed "It's actually so true..." he said

"Another one?" Henry asked, pouring alcohol to each one's glass

Wolf smiled "You really do follow your cycle. I like how Wilde summarised it."

"Fuck off."

Everyone, expect Henry laughed. Then out of the sudden wolf's phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocked and frowned.

"Well, looks like I have to go. It was a nice time with you guys tho."

"You're welcome." Daniel grinned

"Wait. Why did you say 'alpha squad'? Finnick is not in alpha, nor even in you-know-what." Peter noted

"Future is like a dark room. By opening the door you never know what will you find inside." wolf replied and headed for the exit

Nick grinned "Like a fucking philosopher, eh?"

Daniel nodded "You know his style, right?"

"What's the matter, Fin?" Owen interrupted them

"Trouble's coming..." Finnick replied looking towards entrance to the pub

Everyone looked in the direction he was looking. He was right. Ten heavily drunk predators walked in, transparently looking for trouble.

"Oh, come on! We didn't even start drinking!" Henry growled

"Why do you think they'll provoke us?" Gerard asked

"They're strong, big and bad machos, they can beat everyone and they want to get laid." Nick replied "Enough?"

Lion nodded "Makes sense."

All mammals seated at the table lowered their voice as one of the mammals, who happened to be a tiger walked past them, barely standing on the ground. He nudged Henry 'by accident' and dropped his glass.

"Hey! What the fuck was that?" he asked, ready to go for wolf's throat

"Oh, fuck off." Henry replied, not even turning around

"You're buying this back!" tiger ignored his and came a bit closer

Everyone in the bar went silent. Looked like this particular tiger was a person well known in here. And not in the good way. Heavies already started to come closer, as they saw when he provoked the wolf. On the other paw, at this point everyone could see a brass chain around Henry's neck. They knew what that meant. If that tiger would start attacking everyone here could take a knock.

When Henry slowly stood up atmosphere was really tense. He turned around and just punched tiger in the face, using all his skills. Tiger literally flew a few meters just to fall on the table behind him. All glasses on the table flew too, breaking few meters away. Table broke too, turning into some planks. Luckily, all the customers seated at that table went home already. Tiger's colleagues didn't look like they cared about him a lot. They just observed, trying to stay neutral and definitely not wanting to take a fight.

But Henry didn't want to take it either. Just after his punch he again turned around and sat on the table, letting everyone know that the fight has ended even before it started. Now tiger's colleagues were his colleagues again. They came to pick him up and walked out of the pub. Tense in the bar disappeared as fast as it appeared. When danger was gone everyone forgot about the situation. But some of them still nervously glanced on the wolf from time to time.

"Well, that was fast." Peter said

"You don't talk with mammals like him, you just let them know they went too far." Nick said

Henry nodded "Exactly."

"So, another one?" Owen asked

* * *

Judy couldn't sleep.

Everything distracted her at the moment. Traffic. Street lights. Some weirdo listening to heavy metal in the middle of the night. She just rolled over all the time.

"This is pointless." she muttered and got out of the bed

She walked out her bedroom and came into the kitchen. The bunny turned on the light, opened one of the drawers and looked for something. Some time later she got up and closed the drawer, with a box containing some herbal tea. She boiled some water and waited, looking out of the window.

Soon teakettle whistled and she poured some water to a cup, mixing it with a little cold water, so she would be able to drink it instantly. She took one sip. And then another. And another. She didn't even realise when she drank all of it. She looked at her cup with disbelief and then put it in the sink.

"Well, looks like it's better to stay in bed and get at least some sleep." she muttered and went back to her bedroom

She's tried everything - not thinking about anything, counting sheep, drinking some tea - nothing worked. She just gave up and relaxed her muscles.

Then a voice she had never heard before, a voice inside her head started to talk to her.

 _It wouldn't be so boring if Nick was here with you, would it?_

 _Yeah, it wouldn't. Wait, WHAT?_

 _Imagine him holding you in his arms now... Or kissing you... Or playing with your tail..._

 _Slow down. Are we talking about Nick I know? Or about some other Nick?_

 _Who would we talk about silly?_

Judy's mind raced. Was it really her mind? Or did she just witness some telepathy? She never thought like that before. She also never thought about anyone like that.

 _Can you imagine how would kissing him look like? Or burying into his fur?_

 _You are kidding. A fox and a bunny? Me and Nick? That won't work! And, above all of that we're only friends! Right?_

The voice didn't listen.

 _What about some sexy positions... Can you imagine that? The size difference can have it's plus, right? Or his tounge against your lower body?_

 _Judy, you naughty bunny..._ She thought when her paw was reaching down, for her already wet panties. She just hoped she wouldn't wake her neighbours up...


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

The road was covered with snow when the moon started to hide behind the skyscrapers, reflecting in the dark windows, foreshadowing the upcoming day. It was a view many mammals would like to see.

The area nearby was beautiful, too. Almost everything covered with snow, like a dounut covered with icing. It looked like a romance movie scenery - it was the charm of tundrarown.

No one would expect that there would be a mammal, hidden in the branches of a tree. A bunny with a scar-20 semi-automatic rifle.

But she wasn't alone. In fifty meters radius, hidden in various palces there were ten mammals, every one of them equipped with a weapon and some other equipment, like a bulletproof vest, a night-vision googles and a short-vave radio.

"Keep quiet." she heard in her ear pad

She was quiet. Like everyone here. But a little remind wouldn't do anything bad. Only annoy a bit.

She caressed the back of the gun with her tactical glove. She wasn't dressed in kevlar, like everyone else. She was a sniper. She preffered agility and speed over protection. Size difference also mattered. A wolf would easily shot her down, no matter if she wore any kind of protection.

She adjusted the rifle next to her. No matter what she would do, the rifle was simply too long to lay in comfortable way for her. Aspecially with extended barrel and a supressor.

She ignored her stomach calling for food. She more liked to have a bigger chance of survival if shot in a belly than be full and then get shot.

She took her binoculars dangled on her jacket and peeked to watch the block they were in. Nothing was coming. And it seemed like nothing will come in quite some time.

Old storages, rust eaten, probably remembering the times of the cold war were the place they were guarding. If the informations they got were true today they would get robbed. And it wasn't in the Phoenix interest.

They were mostly full of garbage. Some old cars, engines, barrels and electronics. Good camouflage for something more valuable.

In these buildings they hid their most expensive thing to produce - pristine night howler serum.

She was really bored. She had to ignore her hunger, discomfort and messages coming on her phone.

But then she heard a familiar voice in the radio

"Amanda? Are you there?"

She knew that voice. It was Claus, a fox who was assigned to this action too. She liked him and she didn't hide with it. But well, when she first heard that she wad going to work with him quite often she wasn't so sure about it. Her father's attitude toward foxes had a influence on her.

But the question she really had in her mind wad if he liked her too. She wasn't sure about that. He was her exact opposite. While she had a temper and didn't hide with her feelings he was quiet for most of the time.

"Yup, I'm on my position. Why?" she replied

"Well, I was wondering..."the fox started

"I'm all ears!"

"...if you'd like to go out for a dinner with me?" he ended

She didn't has to think long "Yes!" she answered happily, but quiet

"Y-you really want to?" the fox asked, sounding a bit confused

"Yeah! I hoped you would ask me out for quite a time!" she confessed

She wanetd to talk more, but then something got her attention. Movement, catched in the corner of her left eye. She immediately turned to public channel and said:

"Looks like they're coming. On my nine, at least four... six mammals. All seem not to be armed." she said, then went silent and flicked off the safety of her new favourite toy

There were twenty of them. Each one wore a thick jacket and had a handgun. Some had glocks, some had M1911s and some had CZs. They weren't very careful. Even though they all went very close past one of her colleagues no one saw him.

"Owen here. They're the Prides. Totally unorganised. Remember - fast, accurate and deadly shots."

Bunny on the tree toogled her ear pad for 'urgent only' mode. She needed to be focused now. Yes, she could leave as it was, but even though the enemies were very bad, she still wanted to be very accurate. How could she hit the hardest shots if she would't have a discipline good enough to be one hundred percent focused on easy shots?

The mammals already reached the door. They talked for a while and then one of them came closer to the door and started to force them with a crowbar.

Another one went a little further from the group and took his phone out. He turned it on and dialed someone. After he had a few words with a mammal on the other side and hung up.

"Any idea what he was talking about?" the sniper heard in her ear

The channel went silent again. Looked like no one had any idea or it was just bad. She didn't wonder about that though. She just still observed, having her rifle ready to aim and shoot at any second.

But then her super-sensitive ears perked. She switched her protective ear pod from 'extensive protection' to 'limited protection'. And then she heard it.

Car engines. Probably trucks. Three, four... five.

"Shit!" she muttered when she changed the channel again "They're not alone! Five trucks on my nine!" she reported

"You sure they're their reinforcements?" Daniel asked

"What else? This is a private property after all! You-know-who owns it!" Natan, a grey young goat replied

He had the point. But it wasn't the time to quarrel now. Trucks were something that could turn the advantage on the Prides side.

"What do we do, boss?" Daniel asked

"A litlle change in plans. Wait for them to get out. Then Me, Daniel, Doug and Craig are going to push towards them. All else cover us. We're going to give them a little surprise. You still got these explosives?"

Three 'yeahs' came "Good. You all know what to do." he said and then drew his binoculars out of his pocket

He scanned the area in front of him and then hid it again "Seems clear. Move." he ordered, stood up and walked towards the trucks

Meanwhile all the other mammals searched for a target. They all knew what to do. Eliminate them fast and then run away. The plan was simple - it always was. Their trainer always told them not to create complicated plans if not necessary. Easier to make a mistake and longer to correct... The benefits outranked the disbenefits.

The sniper aimed for the mammal who looked like he had the most experience with a gun. She chose a slim cheetah, very young one to be honest. Most mammals would choose other ones, like a lion who was forcing the door to open, or a zebra who called the trucks.

But she knew a few mammals who had shot with a weapon for a long time. She knew how they held guns. She observed how they walked. How they guarded. How they were positioned. And that young cheetah did exactly that.

"Watch out for that cheetah, he looks like he knows what is he doing." she warned the others

"You see that too, huh?" Peter asked

"Yeah." she replied

"Arming the explosives." Owen informed, while hiding behind the nearest truck

Amanda felt noradrenaline starting slowly, but steady entering her veins. She calmed her shaking paws, inhaled deeply and aimed once again. It was better now.

"Amanda?" she heard Owen on the radio

"Here." she replied

"Don't kill that cheetah. I think you-know-who would be interested in him..." the dog said

"Okay." she aimply replied

Her crosshair moved from cheetah's head to the zebra's. She held her rifle steady now. She was ready to shoot as she would hear the explosion.

The zebra didn't expect anything. He was just smoking a cigarette and waiting for the lion to open the door. Only gun he had was a CZ pistol. Certainly not good enough for what was about to happen.

The explosions broke the silence of the morning with a powerful blast. All four of them did great damage. The trucks nearby the explosives suffered the most. But it was the least bad thing for mammals who got there that day.

The cheetah had the fastest reaction. He drew out his MP9 and looked for the mammals who caused that. And they didn't made him wait long.

As soon as the explosives blew up all the mammals who waited started to shoot. Shoot with deadly precision and speed. From thirty six mammals who were there only ten remained alive in the next ten seconds. But after five more only three were. The lion, the slim cheetah and the zebra.

The only reason they were alive was the fact that opposite to the other mammals they hid, not fight. But not for too long.

Amanda shot perfectly. Her first shot pierced through the skull of a bufallo who drove here in one of the trucks. She changed her target in the last second, when she saw him pulling out an assault rifle from one of the trucks.

Then she shot another mammal and then another. And another.

Hours of practice, focus and training had just shown it's effects. The bunny was like death, silencing one mammal after another in the matter of seconds.

"Come out and put your paws in the air. And hurry! We won't wait." Owen ordered after he shot the lion who tried to crack Daniel's neck

The only answer he's got was silence "I saw you jumping behind that box, come out or bad things will happen!" he warned the zebra

And zebra came out. But he didn't want the peaceful ending.

He quickly stood up and fired a shot. One shot. Because after that shot a bullet from SCAR-20 semi-automatic rifle broke through his skull, making a fountain of blood, mixing his brain, destroying the face and almost totally blowing the head off

"Good one." Owen told to Amanda through the radio

"AH, FUCK! NATAN'S GOT SHOT!"

Owen didn't turn around. That cheetah was here somewhere... But where?

He quickly got his answer. The feline did what the zebra did, but much better and a bit different.

Firstly - he didn't peek to be visible to all of the mammals around. He peeked right in front of Owen, totally surprising him.

Secondly - he used a knife. Looked like he knew if he shot the dog everyone else around him would know where he was.

Thirdly - he wanted to go sneaky. He saw how they murdered his companions. They did it quick, professional, deadly and without hesitation. He knew his only chance of survival was to be quiet, invisible and not get himself catched.

He jumped on the dog, totally surprising him. But dog's days of hard training and even more training did it's job. He did a step back, let the knife pass his throat by and then did two steps forward, catched cheetah's arm with his right paw and hit him in the face with his left elblow.

It did it's job - the impact dazed the cheetah and made him step back a bit. But Owen didn't give him a chance. He did one more step and used his fist to hit the cheetah. And then he did it again. But unnecesarilly. The attacker already fainted.

Just after that he turned around, only to see a group of mammals around the shot goat. He rushed towards them, pushing them sideways.

"Don't you have better things to do? Everyone who knows what to do stay and help, the rest check if there's anything worth taking! We're leaving after five minutes!" he growled loudly

"How are we going to fix him with five minutes time?" one of the mammals next to him asked

"You're not supposed to do that. Patch him up a bit, so he can leave. How the fuck do you want to do it by the way?! You're not a fucking paramedic!" he answered "Why are you still staring like some dumb fucks?! Police is going to be here any minute!"

All the mammals he was talking to had to agree. They didn't plan the escape to get caught. All of them started to search the dead bodies and if they didn't find anything they started to go away from the area.

"Door's secure. They didn't even scratch it." Daniel said as he aprroached Owen

"You sure?" the dog asked

The fox sighed "You know, I installed 'em here. And even if they somehow get through it they won't find it."

"Okay. You think you could get one of the trucks moving?"

"One of them is untouched, if I'm correct. You want to trasport Natan, don't you?"

Owen nodded

"Okay. Give me a moment, I'll start the engine and drive close to him."

"Good." a simple answer camr from the dog

"Owen..." he heard Natan hardly wispering

His voice was very weak. The dog didn't know where did the bullet hit him, but when listened to his voice he cursed quietly. That couldn't be any good.

The dog came closer "Yeah?"

Now he could see how bad that shot was. Even though they did everything they could to stop the bleeding still lots of blood flowed through his fingers. It appeared they hit his artery.

"Please... Don't leave me to die here..." he whisprered

"We're doing everything we can..." one of the mammals next to him said

Owen ignored him "Don't worry. I'll get you outta here." he said with his calming tone

It worked. The goat relaxed a bit and laid his head down again. Meanwhile Daniel turned one of the trucks on and carefully drove next to Natan.

"Gimme a moment." Owen asked, turned around and grabbed the cheetah he knocked out "Son of a bitch." he muttered when he kicked the zebra with his head blown off

Then all the mammals who remained there got in it too. They drove away exactly when they started hearing police sirens way off in the distance.

* * *

The neighbourhood was quiet although you could feel the tense atmosphere in here. The black wolf looked around and headed to the end of the estate where the informer lived.

He could easily see who used who. Informer's house was almost three times bigger than any house nearby. It also was a lot cleaner and it had a garden. A small one, but it was the only one with it in this area.

He sighed when he knocked at the door. He could already feel what was going to happen. A lot of extolling, pride, but almost no answers.

"Who's there?" he heard a voice behind the door - it probably was a valet

"Uhm, hello, my name is Ernest Black and I was expected." the wolf said

"Oh, yes you certainly were, Mr. Black." the mammal behind the door opened it "Mr. Philip is waiting in his office. I would suggest hurrying, he's not in the good mood today." the mammal appeared to be a moose

He held the door for Ernest, closed it and took his jacket "Would you like anything to drink, Mr. Black?" he asked

"No, thank you." wolf replied and started walking towards the informant's office

"You do know the way, if I'm correct, right mr. Black?" the moose asked

Ernest nodded and went upstairs. He went past some doors, knocked on the correct one - made out of dark wood - and waited for the reply. After some time a 'come in' came and the wolf entered the office.

It was just like he remembered it. On his left stood a small, pine desk, swamped with papers. He colud barely see a cat accountant behind it. She typed something on her computer, all the time pressing the keys. She didn't even spot him. He gave her a sympathising look and then look at the bigger desk in front of him. This time the desk was big, dark brown and made out of oak. It was also clean. No papers at all, only some pens, a stamp and a book. When the wolf looked closer he spotted that it was covered with dust.

 _Trying to make me think I interrupted him, huh?_ He thought when he looked at the porcupine behind the desk. He was the complete opposite of the other mammals living here. He was plump, well-dressed and looked very wealthy.

"Why do you come here?" he asked the wolf, not hiding his arrogance

"I wanted to poke around some files." Ernest replied when he sat on the chair opposite the porcupine "Some highly confidental goverment ones."

Mammal opposite him got interested got interested "That one with red 'covert' stamps on it?"

The wolf nodded "Yeah. Exactly that ones."

The porcupine grinned "Ha! You wouldn't get them anywhere else! Only I have the access to them in the Nocturnal District... You know the price, right?"

Ernest nodded once again and took a wedge of 100$ bank notes out of his inner jacket pocket "Ten thousand dollars american. In one hundred dollar notes. Enough?" the wolf asked

Porcupine's grin got wider "Yes, indeed. Which ones do you want?"

"Goverment records about Phoenix activity."

This one sentence was enough to make the whole room silent. Porcupine's accountant stopped typing right when he said that, pressing 'l' button with shock, not even noticing it. The porcupine himself couldn't reply. He stared at the wolf wide-eyed, not believing in what he said.

The silence was broke by the same valet who opened the door for Ernest "Excuse me sir, but there are some mammals knocking in trhe door, saying they were expected. Should I open the door?" he asked while opening the door

That woke up the accountant. She blinked and stopped pressing the button. She looked at the document on her computer and facepalmed. There was an endless line made out of 'l' letters on it. She started to delete all of them.

The porcupine on the other paw had to take a bit more thime than her "N-no, I wasn't expecting anyone else. Kick them off my property." he replied

The moose closed the door and walked away "Are you fucking kidding me? You want me to give you files about the Phoenix? Have you lost your goddamn mind? You know what they'll do to be if they find out? Maybe shoot me now, it would be better!" the porcupine yelled

It seemed like his arrogant attitude changed. Maybe because of hearing of his enemy or maybe because he was shocked. But for Ernest it didn't make a difference

"I heard 'if'." the wolf replied "Please, cut to the subject. Are you going to borrow me these files or not?"

"Are you talking seriously? No! They'll fucking kill me when they find out!" he yelled again "Oh god, why do I have them..."

"I've got a solution. Give them to me. You won't have a problem anymore and I'll have what I want." Ernest said

"No. They won't accept it..." the mammal opposite him said "Or you know? Have them. Take them, do whatever you want with them. I only hope they'll kill you not me..."

He stood up and walked to the lockers in the end of the room. He opened one and Ernest saw multiple boxes, filled with various files. He openes his eyes wide. His assumed number of files owned by that mammal was ten times smaller.

"Wait, where did I put it... Night howler case... No. Felix Perry drug cartel... No. Wait, probably next to the ZPD's officer blackmails... Oh, there it is." he said and turned around

The wolf couldn't hide a grin. Porcupine's obesity almost ripped his suit apart.

"Why the fuck are you smiling?" he asked "There you go. Goverment files about the Phoenix."

"Thank you. I wouldn't have them if not you."

"Yes, you're right. You wouldn't have them."

"How much do I owe you?" Ernest asked

"Nothing. I really hope you choke on them."

"Okay then. Goodbye." the wolf said and exited the room

He hid the files in his backpack. Right after that he went to the staircase. He passed by some cheap fake paintings. He looke on the dirty red carpet he was walking on and sighed. Looked like the wealthy porcupine didn't care about clarity in his house. He looked up and stood in shock, right in front of the stairs.

"Hello Ernest." there was a grey wolf, sitting on the banister

He was looking like every other wolf in Zootopia. Except a black jacket, a chain around his neck and an orange scarf, probably overlying a medallion. Second later Ernest spotted that he was not alone. Looking around he could see two more mammals. One behind, on his left and another one on his right, pressing a pistol against valet's head.

When he was recalling this situation he could never imagine one thing - the pistol against mammal's head. Looked like his brain focused on his chances to survive, not about the details. And thanks to that he was still alive.

"Henry." he greeted the other wolf "What are you doing here?" he asked then

"Well, let me tell you a story. Once upon a time there lived a poor porcupine named... Hmm... Let's say Jack. He wanted to have a better life. He was ready to do anything to achieve it." Henry stood up and slowly started walking towards Ernest "He was homeless, workless, dirty and skinny. You could count his ribs through his fur. He would most likely die and no one would care. He was just a little nocturnal district trash, living in the slums. But then..." the wolf stopped "He find out what the value of information is. He sold a mammal to the police. He got paid for that. It was more than he ever had. That's how he ended here." the wolf pointed at the house "He knew how to sell information. But he didn't learn to who, how or what. Luckily for him - he was a quick learner."

"I understand that he sold something about you to the wrong person, huh?" Ernest said

"You are a detective Black. You have to understand and get logical and right conclusions. Your work and sometimes even life depends on it. Anyways, back to the story. Our mammal got a warning. And he listened to it. We had good arguments."

"Like?"

"Is a knife to the throat enough?" Ernest nodded "Good. Well... He quickly assumed that he HAS to take a side at the beggining of his 'career'. Guess who's he chosen?"

"I have no idea." detective replied

"Us. The Phoenix. He swore to never sell informations about us and we gave him protection. He gained some weight, earned some money and it made him forget who he owns his life to. He refused our protection but didn't sell information about us yet."

"Yet?"

"Yet. One hundred thousant dollars made him change his mind. He sold something. As you know, one year ago we were busy purging these fucking criminals in the Canal district, so we didn't notice that. But later he sold more. And more. We decided to put an end into it. Yesterday we sent him the envelope about goverment files about us." Ernest's heart started to beat faster "We told him that if he has these files he wouldn't have to worry about i... Sorry, everything."

"Okay. So that's why you are here. But am I allowed to go?" Ernest asked

The other wolf grinned mischeviously "What have you got in your backpack Black?

Ernest didn't think long. He gave these files to Henry and just waited.

The black wolf was quite surprised. He read the first page of those files and the clicked his fingers. The mammal guarding the vallet hid his pistol came to the wolf, took the files and hid them in his backpack. Then he returned to the vallet.

Henry sighed "Are you bored of your life Ernest? If it wasn't me you'd be dead already."

Ernest was relieved "So, you're going to let me go?"

"Last chance. Stop trying to find out more about us. Forget about the case you are currently investigating. Go home. Do whatever you want, play some video games, watch TV or a movie, visit your mother, I don't give a damn. But stop. I'd hate to hear we had to kill you..." he said and clicked his fingers again "Guys, Mr. Philip is waiting. He ordered a bullet to the head and you know he don't like waiting..." he said with his vicious tone and walked towards the door made out of dark wood

When they walked into the room Ernest was already miles from there. He knew two things. One - he had to look for some better sources of information. Two - leave the investigation. For now. He knew that they would observe him now and won't stop for some time.

And apart from that he knew Henry was right. He spent too much time working. And he knew his mother was missing him. For her - he still was a little boy.

He exited the house and walked towards his car. So he had a plan - leave this casr for now and visit his mother. Maybe something else in the meantime...

"Well, one thing for sure." he muttered when he entered his vehicle "The Phoenix rises..."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

The door opened rapidly and three mammals quickly entered the office, not leaving any time for the porcupine to react. He was too far away from anywhere to do anything. He couldn't grab his small firearm in one of his desk's drawers. He couldn't use his another pistol, hidden in the locker. He couldn't try to jump out of the window. He only stood there, shocked.

Then one of the mammals spoke:

"Didn't expect that, huh?"

He was a slim panda, unlike most of the other pandas. He wore a flight jacket, unzipped so that the porcupine could see a bulletproof vest on his chest. He also had a big knife attached to his thigh part of his worn jeans. Apart from that he also wore some in various places on his body. But not only knives. The porcupine also spotted a P226 on his other thigh. By looking closer he saw the end of the barrel of some other gun behind panda's back. By looking at him you could wonder how was he dealing with police patrols.

There also was a grey wolf who wore a black leather jacket and an orange scarf around his neck, probably overlying a medallion, without a rifle, only with a pistol on his right thigh. And a weasel, with the same look. Only his fur was brown. Not grey.

"W-what are you looking for?" the porcupine asked "Y-you want m-money? I've got m-money! You w-want information? I-i got it t-too!" he couldn't stop stumbling nor hide fear in his voice

"Cut it off and don't play the fool. You know why are we here." the weasel said

"For w-wh..."

"Oh, just show him the files! He's playing on time! Henry?" the panda interrupted him

Henry nodded "Show him Ned." he told to the weasel

Ned just took them and threw on the big desk in the middle of the room. Then he looked left.

"What are we doing with her?" he asked his colleagues, pointing at the cat behind the desk full of various papers

"What do you think? Let her go. What can she do? We're too far away from any ZPD patrol." Henry replied and immediately lost any interest in the feline

He focused on the mammal who pretended to check on the file the weasel gave him. But Henry saw what he was really doing. His brown eyes looked at one of the drawers in his desk.

The wolf motioned the panda and he moved towards the porcupine. When he got close enough to grab him the porcupine opened the drawer and pulled out a small pistol. It could work if he only had been a bit faster.

The panda didn't even speed up. He just threw a knife at porcupine's direction, perfectly tacking the pourcupine's paw to the big, brown leather chair.

The porcupine cried in pain. He dropped his pistol and tried to get the knife out, doing his best. He did it, but again - too slow. The panda was already close to him, flipping his butterfly knife. He kicked the mammal trying to stop the bleeding from his paw and then cut his face with his knife. Then he kicked him in his belly and laid him down.

He kneeled next to him "You still wanna do it the hard way?" he growled "You want me to beat your fat ass? You want to fucking die?" he shouted loudily

"Okay Max, that's enough. You may want your personal vegeanance, but now we need him alive. Or at least able to speak." the wolf reminded the panda

It worked. Max made some steps backwards and stood there, looking on the porcupine only with conpempt. Meanwhile the weasel moved towards the locker at the second end of the room and started to snoop around.

"So, Jack..." Henry approached the mammal on the floor "Was it worth it? Was it worth breaking a deal?"

Jack stopped whining "L-listen I-i..."

"You are not only unthrustworthy Jack. You are also stupid. What have you thought? That we'd give up on it? Have you even considered why would we? You are a stupid mammal Jack. And the thing what is going to happen isn't called survival of the fittest. It would be survival of the smartest. You failed." Henry said nad stood up "And now you can enjoy Max beating you up. Trust me - he won't stop fast..." the wolf laughed mischievously

The panda started to slowly walk towards the porcupine, who started to move back, with fear in his eyes. He saw the flames in panda's eyes. But he didn't remember him. He peobably wanted revenge, but he wasn't certain for what.

Then the weasel who poked around his files in the locker stopped the panda "Wait... He still might be useful..." he said with an absent voice

Max stopped, apparently annoyed "You told me he'd be mine. What is it?"

"Look." the weasel replied, throwing a file to the panda

He picked it up and opened it. It was about Perry Felix's drug cartel. Max knew him only by sight. Like most of the mammals. Perry was a mysterious wisent. Always wearing the same clothes - a worn flight jacket, probably remembering the battle of England, a tracksuit bottom, which was hard to examine, because of its dirtiness, a cowboy hat and a bandana. He almost always took a part in every crime related to drugs. The leader of Night guardians was an absolute king in that business. He also was very revengeful if anyone would butt into his racket. That certain revengefulness was the reason of the case the ZPD led. Although it happened twenty years ago effects still could be seen. When the wisent found out about the Prides started to compete in his manor he went compeletely nuts. He promised their leader he would pay. And he did deliver.

In his anger and with help of his gang members he blew up the biggest school in Zootopia. The number of casaulties was unspeakable. Over fifty dead and two hundred injured kits. Probably that was the start of the five conference, the biggest agreement of the five main crime lords in Zootopia. Those crime lords divided the city into five shperes of influence. Each one for each organisation. Since then everyone who wanted to do something on someone's else manor had to get an approval. It seemed inpossible, but it worked. Many criminals had enough of endless fights and being at each other's throats.

"Yeah, I know about it. He blew up the school, parents got mad and ZPD found out about us." Max said, unwittingly moving his paw towards his medallion "But why is this sooo important?"

"Those aren't common files about that case. Those are files ZPD made for the city council! These files are like the rarest in this city. I NEED to know where the fuck has he got 'em."

When the two mammals countinued to discuss Jack decided to use this advantage. He started to slowly move towards his accountant's desk. She was packing her handbag, probabl prepairing to get out of the house.

The porcupine didn't care much about her right now. The thing that mattered to him was the gun he hid in the lowest drawer of the accountant's desk. It was on his right, less than a meter away. He carefully looked on the weasel, heavily arguing with the panda.

 _Yeah, keep doing it motherfuckers. We'll see if you get out of here alive... Or if I will..._ he thought very concerned

He really had nothing to lose. The panda was winning the argument and looked like the wolf didn't even want to listen to it. So neither he wanted to join it...

"The fuck are you doing?" panda asked Jack when he saw him reaching for the pistol

The porcupine didn't listen. He just pulled the pistol out, took off the safety and tried to stand up. He immediately regret that decision.

The panda bobbed up, tore the gun from Jack's paw and kicked him in his solar plexus. Porcupine panted for breath and fell down on the floor.

"Wanna play? Or you had enough?" the panda asked and kick the porcupine once again "Answer me!" he kicked again

"Max, enough." Henry said, moving towards the panda "He might still be useful. And I don't think you can talk with the dead. Can you?" Max didn't answer "Exactly. So stop kicking him and prepare him for the drive..."

Jack looked at the wolf with fear in his eyes "What do you mean by..."

Thud!

Panda's fist going fast against his face was the last thing he could remember. Then his body fell on the ground, like a sack of potatoes.

Wolf looked at him emotionless. He didn't react when the panda 'acidentally' hit porcupine's head aginst the desk. Max had a right to hate that porcupine. And Henry's goal was to get Jack alive. No one mentioned about his state.

When Max exited the room, carelessly carrying the porcupine, Ned packed all the files and got out too Henry looked at the accountant who was still there. He sighed and spoke to her:

"What is it?" he asked

"What?" she replied

Even though Henry was never interested in music, opera and other similiar things he had to admit that that cat's voice could easily compete with many other voices.

"You didn't leave when we told you to. You only waited there when you packed your things. That leaves me with two possible scenarios. Or you hated your employer and wanted to see him beaten up, but that's less possible because you are still here or you want to talk with me." he leaned in to her "So, what is it?"

"You might need an accountant like me." she replied

Henry grinned and stood upright "Me? I'm a primitive criminal! What can I possibly want from you?" he said sarcastically

She ignored it "Jack actually said much about your organisation. You are the Phoenix. The most organised and disciplined crime group in whole Zootopia. You are like a small army. Even like a very, very small country. You are wealthy. How could you manage with your incomes and expenses without any accountants? You are primitive criminals after all!"

"You are smart. It's valuable today. You really can be useful." all of previous sarcasm in wolf's voice dissapearred "Only thing that concernes me is how did you get that information?"

The cat smiled a bit "When Jack was drunk he always talked much. Like his tounge was itching. Mostly about the Phoenix. But there were other topics. Like..."

"Not interested. But, if you are interested in working for us then follow me." the wolf interrupted her and went out of the room

The cat followed him.

 _So she's or desperate or stupid or she knows what she's doing._ Henry thought and almost hurtled together with Ned.

"Whoa! Watch it dude!" the weasel said

"I could say the same to be honest." the wolf replied "Is everything set?"

"Of course. You know me!" Ned replied

"Perfect. You know what to do."

The weasel nodded and went to the upper floor. Meanwhile Henry and the cat went downstairs. Out of the sudden the wolf spoke:

"What's your name?" he asked the cat

She just blinked "What?"

"Your name. Haven't you got any?" he asked

"Whitney. Why do you care?"

"Good name. I like it." the wolf replied

They walked to the exit door in silence. When the wolf got there he opened the door and muttered something what probably was 'Ladies first'. She walked through the door and saw the moose tied and proopped up on the brick fence.

"Don't ask." the wolf told her passing by

She did what he told her. She just passed the moose, praying he would be okay. The wolf entered a car parked just before the house. It was a yellow SUV, in shade that didn't bring any unwanted attention.

She entered it just after him. The panda and the porcupine were already there. She noticed a bag on porcupine's head. Her eyebrows widened, but she didn't say anything.

Suddenly the panda spoke:

"You know what Henry?"

Wolf's ears perked. He finished belting up and replied.

"What is it?"

"You surprise me. You should be in the worst mood today."

"Why?"

"Well, from what I've heard from Gerard you drank preety much yesterday night. And your mood wasn't great before either, so you should have a hungover that would make you the thousant percent more Henry we know."

Henry smiled "Well, Gerard didn't get laid last night and I've taken some meds. Combine this and you have brand new, not mean Henry!"

"Well, that explains a lot indeed." Max answered

Their talk was interrupted by Ned who just got into the car. He sat on the driver's seat and turned on the engine.

"Is everyting set?" Henry asked

The weasel nodded "Yeah. I set the timers to explode..." he looked at the clock "...now."

The cat prepaired her for a loud explosion. But it didn't happen. She heard nothing.

"Okay. Let's go." Henry ordered

The car drove off with a terrible screech of its tires.

"What have exploded?" Whitney asked

"Incendiary bomb." Ned replied with a tone that made her stop the discussion

She decided not to speak until they get in their destination and looked at the floor.

* * *

A grumpy water bufallo put his glasses on the desk. He yawned and took a large sip from one of the many cups on his desk. He was very tired. Through the night he searched through all the files about secret drug cartels and he still couldn't find nothing the anthelope was talking about. He made up his answer to the anthelope. He just didn't know about it.

"How bad will it be?" he asked himself when he thought about the next day

Nothing indicated that it was going to be a good day. Three new recruits, probably some journalists due to the shooting on that parking and interrogation with the Phoenix anthelope...

Bogo didn't have good memories with the Phoenix. He resembeled them as killers, robbers and simply said 'bad guys'. His experience didn't let him underestimate any of the 'Phoenix crime organisation' members with a vial containing night howlers. He remembered well the night when one of his best friends, a very good cop died one night while trying to catch one of them. He remembered well the zebra who injected a blue liquid into his veins and then became a killing machine.

Even though he and probably anyone else of his friends didn't know about the night howlers, by putting two and two together he didn't need to be a genius to know that the zebra used night howlers.

Bogo took another deep sip and then looked at his computer screen. No new emails, except some spam. When he decided to find out more about the drug cartel anthelope was talking about he thought it wouldn't be so hard. But it was hard. Extremely hard.

Bogo wasn't an amateur. He had long-time experience in almost every aspect of police work. He knew how to interrogate, how to get hostages out of kidnapper's paws, he knew how to fight drug cartels and he knew how to look for information. But this time... Nothing.

He had never seen anything like it before. His best sources of information knew nothing. All the others, even the illegal ones too. Nothing. Totally nothing.

The water bufallo took another sip of his coffee and put the cup in the trash can in the corner of his office. Now he was in a muddle. First time in his career he had no ideas. Even during thr night howler case he had some, maybe not so good, but he HAD ideas. Now...

 _Okay. Let's get things sorted out. I need to make a plan. First - a sheet of paper, second - a pen._

He picked those things from the drawers in his desk and closed his eyes thinking. He remained in that state for a while and then started writing. When he ended he put the pen down and drummed his hoofs on the desk. Now he knew what he should do.

He opened ZPD's database and searched in it for a while. He stopped when he found what he was searching for.

"There are you." he said with a satisfied grin on his face

He stood up, took his notebook, wrote something in it and went out of his office. He passed by some sleepy mammals and then went down the stairs. He entered ZPD's archive, shown his badge to the old, grying bear behind the desk on the right of the entrance, passed by many shelves and stopped before a metal gate.

He took his magnetic card and preesed it to the sensor. He waited some time and after a short beep pushed the gate and entered 'covert' part of the archives.

He sneezed strongly. This probably was the least attended part of precinct one. Only him, some other cops and mammals with his permission could enter in there. And that happened rarely.

He put a handkerchief against his nose and mouth. He could barely breathe.

"I totally should let here vacuum more often..." he muttered

Soon after that he found the shelf he was looking for. He took a file out of a cardboard box and blown off the dust on it. He looked on the title of the file. It was it. Perry Felix's criminal activity.

He looked at the notepad and then at the file again. It was it. Same code.

Bogo sneezed once again, this time even stronger. He shouldn't have blown. Now the dust was everywhere.

The bufallo put the file in his other hoof and went towards the gate. He closed it and then again passed by multiple shelves.

When he got in his office first thing he had to do was to make more coffee. Bogo felt dead. He hadn't slept for almost thirty hours. He really needed to go back home and get some deserved rest. The bufallo decided to start reading the file while waiting for his coffee. He opened it and saw multiple photos of the same mammal - a wisent. On the top of the page there was a writing. He didn't need to read it. He already knew what was written there.

'JOHN PERRY FELIX'

He also knew two first pages of the file. He even knew how he could make it from two pages to ... sentences. It was something like this:

'Perry Felix, wisent, origins unknown, parents unknown, age 51. No criminal activities untill eleven. Wanted for multiple extortions, burglaries, drug cartels and (most importantly) creating an organised crime group in Nocturnal district.'

Yeah, Bogo knew that mammal. Not all the details, but most important facts. However, if his suspicions were true he needed details. But not from first two pages. He needed to dig in.

He didn't even realise how much time he had been reading until a clock on his desk rang. He set it up in case he would fall asleep. It was 7:30.

 _Oh god. And I'm not even in the middle..._ he thought _Okay. Not now. Now I should focus on today's announcments. Three new recruits... Check. What was that weasel's name? Roy... Wenson. Yeah, so Wenson's case will go under Hopps and Wilde..._ the bufallo planned the announcments on his clipboard _Rest as always... Wait. What is that?_

He felt his phone vibrate a bit. He put it out of his pocket. Two new messages. One from his wife - Bogo sighed. He really wanted to go home soon... But the second one was from officer Rhinowitz.

The bufallo frowned. Rhinowitz decided to take Francine's night shift, so she could go to her brother's wedding... The bufallo didn't expect any messages from the rhino. He took that shift in specially quiet area. How many years have passed after lastest robbery there? Ten? Twelve?

Bogo unlocked his phone and read the message. With every word his eyebrows widened. When he ended he nearly dropped the phone. He remained in shock for a little time and then fastly took his clipboard and reassigned Judy and Nick.

"They're my best detectives... Other officers can deal with Wenson's case... But I don't think they'd deal with that..." he muttered and looked at the clock

It was already 7:41. Bogo decided to stop reading the file now and took a sip of his coffee.

"I'm gonna or work to death or get shot one day." he made a statement and took another sip of his coffee

* * *

Clawhauser laughed. Nick patiently waited for the cheetah to stop and then spoke:

"What about this one? A bunny walks into a bar..."

"Speaking of the devil..." Clawhauser interrupted him still chuckling a bit

Nick turned around, only to see Judy entering the building. She didn't look like she sleep well. Her fur seemed a bit messy and her eyes were half-open. When she approached the fox he spoke:

"Morning Carrots. You look like you could use some coffee." he said

Judy just yawned "Some genius got an idea to tap dance from midnight to the sunset and hy head still hurt a bit, so good luck with that." she replied

"Not good." Clawhauser admitted

"Wany some coffee?" Nick asked the bunny "I'm going to go get some."

"Yes, please." Judy replied smiling "I'd love to."

Nick nodded and went to the coffee machine in the corridor on the left. It wasn't like other terrible cheap ones. Whole pretinct one dubbed up for it. And everyone knew it was worth it. During long night shifts no one wanted to go long way to their offices to their offices just to get some coffee. So one of them proposed to get a good coffee machine. And no one protested.

Nick put two coins in and then waited. A delicious aroma wafted in the air. Nick inhaled deeply and clised his eyes. Yeah, that's going to be a good coffee.

He waited untill he heard a quiet 'ding' and took two cups with steaming liquid inside. He walked to the rabbit again and gave her one cup.

Judy smiled "Thaks Nick. I owe you one."

Nick grinned "Not a problem Fluff."

"Have anyone told you that you are adorable together?" Clawhauser asked

"Well, there's a one chubby cheetah..." Nick answred

Judy took another sip from her cup and looked at her clock. Her eyes widened.

"Oh my god, Nick we'll be late for today's announcements! Let's go!" she said nervously

Nick smirked and turned his head to Clawhauser "You see what a good coffee can do? See you later pal." he said and went towards the door leading to the briefing room

The duo entered the room. It was like always in here. All the officers talking, laughing and joking loudly. Judy saw only Francine and Rhinowitz were absent. She also saw three new faces.

First she saw a lion, sitting near the wall, talking with Fangmeyer. His mane was rather short, but she saw some medium plaits here and there. When she looked at him she immediately thought of native African tribes. It looked like he was proud of his ancestors and kept the memry of them.

He did look unusual, but she remembered the street where she went with Nick during one of their cases. Well, comparing the lion to some mammals she saw there he was one hundred percent normal. Some of those weirdos even appeared in her nightmares...

Second new mammal she noticed was a female eland. She looked very common. Probably lived in Zootopia since she was born.

Unlike the lion she seemed not to care about her ancestors. Not even a bit. Looked like she didn't care about her species past or how her ancestors wore, ate and live.

Third new mammal was a black wolf. She barely spot him, because he sat in a place she wolud never look. It was very possible that if Nick hadn't shown her she would have missed him. She didn't have much time to look at him.

She hopped on the chair she always sat on with her partner. She looked at the clock and sighed with relief. They barely made it on time.

"Atten-hut!" one of the officers shouted when he saw the door opening

The reaction of almost all the officers was the same. They all started to roar untill Bogo got to his platform.

"Okay, okay, SHUT IT!" the water buffalo outshouted his subordinates

They all did what he said. Their chattering was a sign of a respect the had for their chief. That's why they immmediately stopped when he told them to.

"Okay. So. We have some new recruits joining today. I should introduce them, but... Well... I don't care." he said, followed by some laughters "Today's assigments. Officer Snarlov and Delgato... You will look for a little drug dealer in Canal district." ha gave a file to them "Officer Wolfard and Fangmeyer. You are going to investigate Roy Wenson's case." he gave them another file "And finally officers Hopps and Wilde." both the fox and the bunny jumped down their chair "You'll investigate the crime scene in tundratown." he gave them the file and continued. But both the fox and the bunny didn't listen.

After they thanked Wolfard who held the door for them, Judy and Nick went to their office and sat on their chairs. That was the thing they always did. They first planned what would they do and then started to solve the case. Judy opened the folder and frowned. There was almost nothing. No evidence, no eyewitnesses, no photographs, only an adress and a note from Bogo.

"What's wrong?" Nick asked

Judy handed him the file "Take a look." the fox took it and looked at it "See? Nothing."

Nick smirked "Ready to beat the record?" he asked

Judy blinked "Sorry, what?"

"When you took Emil Otterton's case it had a photo. Now it hasn't. So we can beat the record now." the fox explained

Judy chuckled "Are you serious sometimes?"

Nick nodded "Very rarely, but yes. Now, let's focus at the case, shall we?"

"Okay slick. So, where do we start?"

"I would read the note Bogo gave us and arrive at the adress which is here." he tapped the file "Then figure out what do we do next."

Judy nodded "Well, I can't figure out anything better at the moment right now, so let's do it!"she said with enthusiasm

"You really love your job, don't you?" Nick asked

"You know me!" Judy replied and jumped off her chair "Let's go now!"

She exited their office and headed for the elevator. Nick followed her. They entered it and the fox pressed the button for the parking. The elevator started moving smoothly and after some time they arrived at the floor.

When the door opened the duo exited the lift and passed by many police cars. After some time thet got to their vehicle.

"I'm driving today!" Nick said and quickly annexed the car seat on the left

Judy rolled her eyes and sat on the passenger's seat. She looked at the fox on her left. He looked like it was the happiest day of his life.

"Ready to go carrots?"

"Yeah. Let's go!"

Nick put his shades on, pressed the gas pedal and drove out of the parking. He overtook two cars and got on the road leading to Tundratown district.

Judy took a quick look at him. His fur and uniform were enlightened by the sun.

 _It looks preety darn sexy, doesn't it?_

 _Heck yea he does... Wait, did I just..._

She opened her eyes wide and turned around. Did she just confirmed what she heard in her head? Yep - she did. Was it true what she said? Yep - it was. Was it because of upcoming spring? She didn't know.

What should she do now? She wasn't sure if what she thought was because of her hormones. If it was - it didn't matter. She had some tested methods for this.

But if it was real... She had no idea what to do. She never had a crush. Not a real one. Her parents tried to set her up a few times, but when they saw it was pointless they just let it go.

She was afraid. Right now she thought every choice she would make would be bad. What if he didn't feel the same for her? What if that would break their relationship? Would she be able to live with it? Or would she take the easy way out?

But what if he did feel the same? How would it affect their work, their parents and the society? How would it end? A good way? Or a bad way?

"Hey, Carrots... Is something wrong?" Nick asked with concern in his voice

"Nah." she replied "I'm fine."

"You sure? You know, we are frinds, I can help you..."

"No, it's fine, I'm okay Nick. It's just... You know, my head hurts a bit." she told him

"Still because of that guy?" Nick asked

"Yeah. I hit that wall hard."

"There's a drugstore nearby. I can buy you some aspirin. You want to?"

"Nick, that's very kind of you, but you really don't have to. I'm tougher than I look anf you know it. A headache won't kill me!"

"If you say so..." Nick replied, not really convinced

 _How it's going to end... Oh god, I don't even wanna think..._

With those thoughts on her mind Judy was sitting on the passenger's seat, driving towards the crime scene.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Nick parked their car right next to yellow 'do not cross' police line and got out of the car. Judy did the same, just a second after him. Nick closed the car and then the duo walked towards the line, crossed it and entered the property.

They both heard police sirens and some conversations in the background. They turned left and the view made Judy almost return her breakfast. There were at least twenty bodies, all of them laying in artificial poses, most of them minced by bullets, with a wince of surprise on their faces. All of them laying in puddles of blood, with some also in their own guts. Some of them also had a wince of pain. Nick guessed those perticular omes died from bleeding, not from the shots. Judy on the other paw, looked away and tried not to throw up.

Now Nick spotted that four trucks standing there were also damaged. He moved towards them frowning and looked closer. He saw their windows were broken, the metal on them contorted and reechy and overall they were heavily damaged.

"Wilde! Good to see you!" he heard Rhinowitz on his left and looked there

The rhino was tired. That was the first thing the fox noticed.

"Hi. Do you know what happened?" he asked

"Nah. Not at all. Only thing I know is they" he pointed at the bodies "were surprised and the shots came from there." he pointed behind him "I already secured the area, so you have all for yourselves."

"Okay. Anyone else here?"

"Some officers from Tundratown precints. Won't interrupt you unless you interrupt them. And they have done almost nothing since I got here, so interruptimg them can hbe hard."

"Okay. See you later." Nick said and put on his gloves

"Bye." the rhino replied and went to his car

"Oh God Nick... Why did it happen?" Judy asked with trembling voice

"You have never seen a dead body before, didn't you?" Nick asked her

"No... Not in that number..." she replied, now a bit less tremulous

"You can wait in a car if you want to..." Nick suggested

"No. I think I can handle myself." Judy replied, this time with her normal voice

Nick wasn't sure though. He saw she was pale under her fur. He was sure that he shouldn't investigate as he would do without her on his back. She would simply pass out. But she was also his fox decided not to order her anything - if she wanted to leave, then she'd leave.

The fox moved towards the building made out of metal sheets. He examined it and then looked at the dead lion nearby the door leading to the building. His face wasn't static. It was full of unexpected pian and bleakness. Looked like he didn't die instantly, before he even hit the ground.

He kneeled next to him and looked at the big hole in his chest. He frowned and closed his eyes. He had to focus. Of all rifles and bullets he knew only sone could make that effect. He knew it was a mammal in size similiar to Judy's and it used special exllosive ammo. If it would be any bigger the bullet would make a bigger hole.

On the other paw if the mammal didn't use an explosive bullet it would most likely go through and make a tunnel instead of a hole.

So, adding all the factors Nick knew there was a small mammal, using bullets hard to get and most likely shooting with a sniper rifle.

He couldn't tell what was the type of the rifle. He needed or to have a bullet shell or the remaining of the bullet. He didn't have the first and he couldn't have the second, because it was an explosive bullet.

He looked on his left. Judy wasn't far away. She looked at the tracks and tried to examine if the attackers or the victims made them.

"Hey, Carrots!" he called her out

Her ears perked and she replied "Yeah?"

"Can you bring me the camera? I need to take a picture."

"Really? I thought you wanted to order pizza." Judy replied, standing up and starting to walk towards the fox

Nick grinned. Judy gave him the camera and looked at the lion.

"You know he has taken two bullets?" she asked, trying her best to hide the trembling in her voice

Nick sighed. She really wasn't supposed to be here. She was too innocent. She had never hurt anybody, never shot a real gun at someone, not even seen a dead body. Correct. She had. Once. And it wasn't minced by bullets like the bodies here.

"Really? I must have missed... Where?" Nick asked

"You were inspecting the first one and the second one is on his back, right next to his spine." she answered and pointed hef finger at the wound

Nick looked where she was pointing. She was right. There was another bullet. He looked closer. It seemed like the first bullet hit his spine and damaged it and the second bullet was to deliver the coup de grâce. Nick took the camera and took some photos of the lion.

Then a crow, pecking some flesh from blown-off head of another mammal caught his attention. He stood up and walked towards the corpse. Meanwhile the crow was shooed away by a leopard, who was one of the cops who already investigated the crime scene.

The leopard sighed and then noticed a fox moving towards him. He turned to the fox and greeted.

"Hello. Officer Wilde, I guess? I'm officer Richard Müller."

Nick shook his paw "Interesting surname for someone who is a snow leopard..."

"I know, right? I don't know why, I never really thought about it." the leopard replied "Anyways, what brings you here?"

Nick's face expression turned serious "I'm a journalist. I'm making an article about that shooting. That's why I'm taking questions."

The leopard laughed "You do have that something in you, don't you?"

"Yup. But serious now, we are investigating. Chief told us to do it, so we are here!"

Leopard nodded "Okay. Do you need help? I've been here since the beggining, maybe you want some informations?"

"What happened to this guy," Nick pointed at the zebra next to him "how many snipers were there, how many deads and if you have any idea who could have done that."

"When it comes to him" the leopard kicked zebra's corpse "he was shot by a sniper. His maw was laying there." he pointed at a pit in snow next to the zebra

"Wait. Was?" Nick interrupted him

"Yes. Some genius had an idea to move it. Coming back to the topic, at least one sniper, maximally three. We counted thirty three deads, although the attackers might have lost someone too. Look at this." the leopard pointed at some bashed im snoe "There clearly was someoje laying here. And we have no bloody idea who could've it been."

Nick nodded "Thank you. That was all I wanted to know."

Richard nodded, turned around and went to his colleagues, discussing about some unimportant and meaningless things. Nick noticed he didn't do it with much willingless. He shrugged. It wasn't his concern. He kneeled next to the body with blown-off head and looked closer.

His previous theory only got confirmed. It was a small mammal, using explosive bullets. Only that combination could make the remainings of the head look like it looked. Bone shards here and there, little pieces of flesh, brain, cerebral meninges and skin almost everywhere around the zebra. By looking at this horror-like stew he had nausea too, although he had seen bodies like that before.

He didn't search for the bullet. It was impossible to examine what type of bullet the mammal used. He did something else. By looking at the zebra he knew the mammal had to shoot him from a rather high position. If it didn't the wound wouldn't look like that.

He looked for a high position, where any small mammal couldn't easily be seen. There weren't much positions where mammals could hide.

Or could they? he thought as he walked closer to the area further away from the crime scene. There were always no places where anyone could hide. No bushes, no hummocks and no dimples.

He spot some tracks though. Not much - only six, but for now he had some in regard to the tracks nearby the crime scene.

He was quite surprised. Looked like none of the attackers wore boots. For what had he seen it seemed like they had money. Explosive ammo and a good sniper rifle for a small mammal weren't cheap things.

When he thought about it for a moment it made sense. They didn't know when the police would come and boots, aspecially the military ones weren't hard to track.

He moved with the tracks, careful so he wouldn't damage them. But it wasn't necesarry. Even though Zootopia's artifical climate system was one of the best it still didn't always hold only the air Zootopia Climate Control wanted for it to hold. It worked for most of the time, however sometimes some hot air got to tundratown, some cold air got to sahra sqare and savannah central. But, mentioned earlier it occured rarely. So rarely that no one really cared.

 _But why on earth had it to occur now?_ Nick thought, very annoyed by that fact. He kneeled right next to some tracks and tried to determine which type of mammal left them there. But it was meaningless. The fox just couldn't do it. The snow around the tracks melted and made it impossible for him to determine what type of mammal left it there. He doubt that even a skilled trapper could.

The fox sighed. _Well, if that won't work I shoud find out how many mammals took part in that shooting. He thought and counted big hollows in the snow. Two, four... Five. Hmmm... Should be more of 'em... Thirty five versus five... Nah. Not possible, even with a surprise element. At least fifteen._

Nick's thoughts were interrupted by Judy, who called him on the radio.

"Nick, where are you?" she asked

"In the bushes. Guess what I'm doin'?" he replied

"Nick!" Judy couldn't find a better reply right now

The fox laughed "Don't worry carrots, I found some tracks and I'm trying to find out how many of them happened to be here."

"Okay. Can you come here? I want to show you something."

"On my way fluff." he replied

The fox stood up and walked towards the bunny, standing in what seemed to be a random place.

"What is it whiskers?" the fox approached her

"Look." she pointed at the ground

Nick looked at the place she was pointing at and frowned. The snow there was a little bit pink, like there was some blood spilled.

"What's wrong with it?" Nick asked

"Do you see a dead body nearby?" the bunny asked

Cogs in Nick's head started to work. He soon realized what Judy wanted him to pay attention to.

"They shot an attacker."

"Exactly." Judy replied

"He was shot by that zebra over here. He fell on the ground and then a truck moved to him, his friends probably put him in it and they all drove away." Nick said

"How do you know all of that? Judy asked with respect in her voice

She knew her partner could infer many things, but that amount. She was impressed.

"I don't know, I assume and think while moving my lips." the fox replied "Do you have a metal detector?"

"They should have." she pointed at officres from Tundratown "What's in your mind slick?"

"If I determine what type of rifle that sniper used I will have less illegal weapon shops to check out." Nick replied

He went to one of the officers and asked for a metal detector. He didn't wait long - right when he asked for it the mammal opposite him gave him a metal detector, a bit oversized. Nick looked at it and sighed. He could have been given a better one, but also a worse one, so he didn't complain.

He moved towards the tree, not so far away from the tracks on the snow. He turned it on and it almost immediately started to beep. The fox kneeled, moved the detector a bit and then finally found what he was looking for.

He dug in the snow with his right paw and drew out three bullet shells. He didn't have to search for more. Now he knew there was only one sniper. The tree was simply too small for two mammals. Nick went back to the officers and returned the metal detector. Then he went to Judy, who examined the trucks.

"I got those bullet shells." he told her and unclenched his fist to show three brass, long rifle bullet shells

The bunny turned around "So, do you know what rifle did that mammal use?" she asked

Nick didn't answer fast. He looked at the shells from all angles and then spoke:

"Most likely SCAR-20, but I'm not sure. It's not a type of rifle used with explosive ammo."

Judy frowned "Why?"

"Well, I don't remember well, but it collided with the barrel build, or someth Iike that. Still remember when one guy, who tried to shoot explosive ammo in Nocturnal district with SCAR-20. The barrel exploded and he had to pay. Preety much." he chuckled

"Anything else you can tell?" the bunny asked

"As I mentioned earlier it's explosive ammo. It looks like it's not made by military or private legal businesses, but in illegal factories." Nick replied and put the shells in the plastic bag "Which leads me to a conclusion. They weren't some regular criminals. They were organised and had some equipment that isn't very common."

"Yeah, that makes sense." Judy replied "Have you checked these tracks already?" she pointed behind Nick

The fox turned around "A little bit to the left." Judy told him

He looked there. She was right. Heavily blurred tracks, but definitely not made by the officers from tundratown precint. They were too deep and snow around them was melted more than around the others.

Nick came closer and searched for the place they were coming from. Looked like five another mammals came from behind the big piles of wood, for some reason staked here.

He went there, followed by Judy and behind those piles of wood he found five hollows in snow, like some mammals laid there for some time.

"Well, looks like we know how much of them were there, don't we?" Judy asked

Nick nodded, but with absent face expression "Yeah, but it just don't make any sense at all..."

Judy frowned "Why?"

"There were only ten of them. Most of the criminals in Zootopia don't have much marksmanship. They had to be more of them to eliminate these guys" he pointed at the bodies "fast and effectively. Otherwise they would respond with fire and there wouldn't be like thirty bodies with only suprise on their faces and like five without. There would be much, MUCH more of them."

"There aren't any more tracks of the attackers Nick. There are ten, not more."

"Well, there is one crime group which could do it." Nick said "But they would have or to gain preety much or prevent losing much to take a part in anything."

"Who?"

"Do you remember Mr. parkour anthelope?"

Judy smiled a bit "Yeah. Was he a part of that crime group too?"

Nick nodded "You got a well-deserved six from me. He mentioned a medallion and a vial, so possibility is extremely big. The only question is why the Phoenix would intervene... Wait, I think I know how can I check it out. Meanwhile ask our 'colleagues'" he pointed at the officers standing nearby the metel shack "why the fuck didn't they check out the area nearby."

"Nick! Language!"

"Sorry, fluff, it's just... How did they miss that?" he pointed at the hollows and then walked to the main entrance to the parcel

Meanwhile Judy walked towards the group of wolves, leopards and other mammals. They appeared to be discussing about somebody's sister and looked like it amused them.

"Excuse me?" Judy tried to cut in

Most of them didn't react. They continued talking, totally ignoring her. But not all of them - one mammal, an arctic leopard walked out of the group and spoke:

"Do you need something?"

"Uhm, Nick wanted to know why didn't you check that place." she pointed at the pile of wood "And that place." she pointed at area nearby the tree

Leopard blew a raspberry "I dunno. These geniuses" he pointed at his colleagues "decided not to, because... Reasons. I really don't know. Should I tell them to do it?"

"We already did it, but it would be good if you secured the area."

"Okay. I'll take care of it." he replied and went to the group again

Judy turned to the main entrance just to see her partner entering the parcel. She came closer to him and spoke:

"So, do you know who did it now?" she asked and pointed at the bodies, feeling a qualm again

"Yeah, it was the Phoenix. They not only protect that property, they also own it."

"Protect? So are they a crime organisation or a security for hire?" she asked with confusion in her voice

Nick exhaled heavily "Okay. Looks like you have no idea who the Phoenix is or what they do, don't you fluff?" Judy nodded "I guess there's nothing about them or there's only 'the Phoenix', one or two sentences and then 'the end'." Nick said "We have to go to my apartament, I have to get my own information about them. Are you coming with me Carrots?" he asked

"Sure. Why not?" she replied

Nick turned around and went out of the parcel. He opened the door of the crusier first for Judy and then went to his seat. They both put on their seatbelts and then Nick started the engine, waited for the cars to pass them by and drove forward, heading for the crossing.

He turned left, for the road leading to Savannah Central. After some time he entered the tunnel and then drove out of it. He almost immediately turned right and then stopped the car.

"We're here whiskers!" the fox told her, turned the engine off and got out of the car

She did it too and looked where did they got. It was a rather strange place. Seven skyscrapers reaching the sky, connected to each other, bulit to make a little square in the middle of them. Nick confidently walked in the passage to the park made in the square between the skyscrapers.

Looked like mammals living there built a a park in the square. Judy liked it. It brought a bit of nature in that modern complex. Birds sung, water fountain splashed and it overall was feeling like on her parents' farm, where she spent her childhood.

Nick went through that park, with Judy following her. She spot with sadness that most of the residents of the place where Nick lived shown animosity towards him.

But not all of them. Some greeted him normally. And he greeted them too. Soon after that he got to the end of the park and entered the door to the shortest building there. Judy was doubtful if it even classified as a skyscraper.

Although it was short it was the most conspicuos one. It looked like fortress. It had grey walls, made out of reinforced concrete, rather small windows and heavy wooden doors.

Judy walked in the building with Nick. The inside of the building looked like some kind of bunker. No paint on the walls, metal doors and light bulbs hanging from the wall made it look like it.

"You live here Nick?" Judy asked

"On the last floor. Only the ground floor looks like a scenery from a war movie." the fox replied, entering the elevator

Judy followed him "Why does it look like that?"

Nick pressed the highest button and spoke "It was built during the cold war. I duuno how, but the goverment was afraid that Soviet forces would try to take over Zootopia. That's why this place was built. It was supposed to be a last stand stronghold, equipped with heavy machine guns, rocket launchers and other stuff like that. There's even a conspiracy theory that there is bunker complex beneath us, still full of ammo, guns, explosives, gas masks and radiotion suits. Heck - even with a atomic rocket launcher!" Nick laughed "Ehhhh... Some of those conspiracy theories are complete bullshit."

The elevator stopped. They arrived at the top floor. When Judy got out of the elevator she had to admit - it was just like Nick said. It looked very modern with white and black design. There also were some things that brang housy accent there. A red carpet on the floor, wooden doors to the apartments and paintings on the walls.

Nick walked left anc stopped before the second door. He put his keys in and opened the door.

"Ladies first!" he said, holding the door for Judy

She entered his apartment, interested how it would look like inside. She has never been in his apartment before.

The hall was the first room she saw. Looked like the fox renovated his apartment. Judy saw walls painted in bottle green color and an oaken floor.

Nick closed the door and entered the room on the end of the hall. It wasn't long. The room seemed to be a living room. The walls there were white and the floor still oaken. On the middle of the room Judy saw a black carpet with a couch next to it, facing the TV on the wall in front of her.

She liked that design. Although the flat seemed very modern it still was cosy. Nick crossed the room, turned left and entered his room.

"Carrots, can you give me a paw here?" he asked

She went in his room. It was all painted blue, with a large bed, definietely too large for a mammal in Nick's size. On the left stood a desk with a PC on it. On the right there was a wardrobe. Nick stood on the chair next to it, barely holding a large box on the wardrobe.

"What is it?" the bunny asked

"Well..." the fox lurched and fell down, with a box, a broken radio and some other things

"Oh my god! Nick, are you okay?" Judy asked with concern in her voice

"Ouch... I'm fine... I guess." Nick replied with pained voice

He stood up and took the box that fell on him. He opened it, moved the rest of the stuff on the side and took a paper sheet out of the box. Then he put it in his pocket, closed the box and put it under his bed.

"I'll clean up later." he said and went out of the aprtment with Judy following him

He closed the door to his apartment and went to the elevator with Judy.

They arrived to the ZPD headquarters after ten minutes. When they entered it they immediately headed for their office. Nick sat on his chair, when Judy moved her towards his desk and then sat on it too.

"So, what do we do now?" the bunny asked

"I would look for information about the Phoenix in the ZPD's database. Even though there probably would be nothing it still can help." the fox replied and turned on his computer

After a while he found what he was looking for. He opened the link.

"You were right, Nick. There isn't much."

"They do know how to make information hard to look for." Nick replied "Do you think anything here would be useful?"

Judy started reading "Hmmm... No... Not really. Can you check if there are any mammals in the database that are related to the Phoenix?"

Nick nodded and started scrolling down "Well, I thought we'd have to search all by ourselves, so this is going great!" he joked when he clicked another link

It was an old case, when three drunk prey mammals attacked one predator. It wasn't anything uncommon five years ago, but that certain situation hit the headlines. The attacked became the attacker. No one of those drunk prey expected it, but the panther they attacked had some knowledge about self-defense and a knife hidden somewhere.

He killed them all. When the ZPD found those bodies it was hard to believe the person they attacked was not trained military personel. The case ended with ZPD's lost of every track. They never found the panther or any of his colleagues. But the legend of a crime group wearing black leather jackets, orange scarfs and medallions rose. All officers hoped they'd never ran into one of them.

But eventually, they came back. And that time there were deads too. Thas time though no normal citizens. A police officer, killed by a zebra during 'the night howlers terror'.

When the duo read the case file Nick sighed and spoke "Well, looks like we have to look for everything by ourselves."

"So, will you show what is on that page of yours, Slick?" Judy asked

Nick simply handed it to her. She took it and frowned. For her it only was some random chain of letters and numbers.

While she was reading it Nick entered a website took the page from her and typed all the letter in 'search' bar.

"Nick, what is this?" Judy asked

Nick turned around "You'll see."

He clicked on a button on the screen and a video started to play. The bunny saw a mammal in the dark, while the video buffered. The bunny moved closer, with her nose twitching.

Then the video started. Judy heard breathing and something what probably was trying bust a door open. Then the mammal spoke:

"Hello. My name is Anthonny Crawford." he definitely was a male "I don't know how much time do I have left, so I'll make it quick. Well, to put it simpliest... I've stolen the Phoenix's files. They're after me now. You can probably hear them at the moment." he stopped and both Judy and Nick heard busting the door again "You probably wonder why did I do it? Why did I sacrifice my own life? Because no one else would. And someone had to do it. That's why I'm here." he stopped, took a sip from a cup standing somewhere and continued "Well, to explain how the Phoenix works and what do they do, I need to explain how were they created. The Phoenix was created by former Russian Spetsnaz commander. He trained six mammals from the streets, including his own sons, to change them to killing machines. This is how they were created in a nutshell. What do they do? They are made of mammals who lost all their hope and kind of brainwash 'em. They make it impossible to quit. Back to the subject, by making the Phoenix out of mammals who lost all their hope they mostly hope on persons who are reaponsible for that. Like Prey Rights Council for example. That's why they are so hard to get rid of. By seeing them beating the fuck of city hall, most residents of poorer parts of town see them as liberators and justice - not like they are for real. They steal from city council owned banks, they sell drugs, they offer protection - for a 'reasonable' price. They also do burglaries, heists, exactions, kidnappings... I could speak and speak for hours. Okay. This is the shortest version of that subject. Now I'll tell you why fighting them is so darn hard. Well, the Phoenix uses every advantage and every weapon the can use. Their main advantage is this." the mammal stopped, took something in his paw and moved it to the light "I don't know how, but it increases their speed, strengh, reaction time, pain resistance and their overall physical strengh."

Now both officers saw what he was holding. It was a vial, rather small, made out of metal and with a bit of glass in the middle of it, so everyone could see a vlie liquid in the vial. When the mammal moved the vial both Judy and Nick saw an orange bird engraved on the top of the container. It stretched its wings to the sides, with its legs and head put up, making the bird look proud.

"They also know how to use most firearms, cold steel, grenades... About their plan... I'm not sure if they have any. They might. Abo..." mammal's voice was interrupted by sound of the breaking door "Oh fuck! And I didn't even told about the half of things I intended to... Okay. Listen. If you want more information you have to type the code on the page you have in the resarch bar, but you have to type it reversed. Good luck." he turned the camera off and the screen went black

"Where did you get it Nick?" Judy asked

Nick closed his eyes and sighed "A friend of mine gave it to me. The next night he was found dead..."

"Oh my god, Nick! I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have..." Judy apologised

"No problem carrots, you didn't know. Now, let's check that code, shall we?" the fox changed the subject

"Okay." Judy replied and went quiet

She was afraid she made him feel uncomfortable. She didn't want that - she was a close friend of him and she never liked him being sad.

"Well, I think we have as much intel as we want to, fluff." the fox said and leaned back on his chair

She looked at the screen and her eyes widened. There were thousands of photos of various files, each one clearly seen.

"So, what do we do now, slick?"

"Let's look for Mr. Anthelope and the place we went to today. Even if these files are outdated we won't get any better."

"Okay. Sounds good. How old it that video?"

Nick frowned "Probably around three years. Maybe two... I don't know."

He started scrolling down. After ten minutes he gave up.

"This is pointless. One devil knows how much of this is here." he moved his paw, ready to close the window, but Judy stopped him

"Wait! Look!" she pointed

Nick clicked at the file she was pointing. It loaded a bit and then he saw a photo of the building they were to that day. He started to scroll down and after some more photos many lines of text appeared. Nick grinned.

"More than 'Phoenix criminal organisation', huh?" he asked the bunny rhetorically

He started reading with the bunny next to him. After some time he frowned. After even more time his eyebrows couldn't go even more down. But after even more time they did. They stayed in that state untill they read the file. Then nick turned the screen off and sighed.

Now they knew why did the Phoenix attack their opponents. The attacking mammals tried to steal from their most important safe. They tried to steal pristine night howler serum.

Judy didn't know much about it. On the other paw Nick knew much. He spent most of his life in the underground, just trying to get money. The rest didn't matter to him at that time. That's hiw he met Finnick and more importantly - his work in the Phoenix started too. The fox didn't want to remind himself from that time, so he skipped it then too. He only knew one thing - when someone would even try to touch Phoenix's pristine night howler serum it could NEVER end good.

"So, what do we do now, Nick?" Judy asked

"I would wait for our 'colleaugues' from thundratown precinct ro finish gaining evidence and then think how do we get the Phoenix mammals who took part in that shooting, but let's look for some more information, everything we can use to our advantage against them." he said

"Sounds like a good idea. Let's do it!" she replied


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

A large water bufallo walked into the forensics lab. He looked around, searching for the ferret he was looking for.

The lab was almost empty - most of the forensics were on well-deserved leave. They often worked the longest time, in the long run seriously neglecting their health.

He finally found the ferret and headed towards the mammal. He was sitting behind the desk, probably playing solitaire.

He headed that way, passing by some desks flooded with lab equipment, now unused. He soon approached the forensic scientist and spoke:

"What on earth are you doing? I remind you, you're at your workplace!"

The ferret didn't look like he cared much. He did another move, took a bit of a burger that laid on some documents on his right and respond:

"I needed a break."

"Every twelve minutes?"

"It increases my workplace productivity."

"I love talking with you Nigel... Have you already checked that night howler serum? Nothing ordinary I guess."

"Trust me chief, comparing to Bellwether almost fifteen percentage point increase is not ordinary."

"What's the difference anyway?"

"A big one chief. Thirty percent night howler serum can kill large, healthy elephant within seconds. Twenty five can do vast damage to your body, if you're not careful. Twenty percent can give you a killing headache. This is dangerous stuff, but it is also a very interesting substance."

"Wait. Bellwether's minions didn't use high percentage serum?"

"Bingo. It hadn't had even half a percent of pure night howler serum. Guess how much makes an average mammal go savage?"

"I dunno. Earlier I assumed ninety, ninety five, but after that I really don't know. Five? Ten?"

"Exactly from quarter to half percent. A little bit more and five thousand dollars for one single gram... Gone."

"What!?"

"Every one reacts the same way... I told you it was an intresting flower. But to be honest Bellwether didn't pay much comparing to the Phoenix."

"So how much does the Phoenix pay for producing one gram of the serum?"

"Fifty thousand dollars."

"Thousand? You're kidding me."

"I might be wrong, but my calculations aren't Bogo."

"Fifty thousand dollars... Is it even profitable for them?"

"It wouldn't be if they had to pay for electricity, chemicals, flowers and laboratory equipment."

"Fuck... So it won't be as easy as I thought..."

Suddenly, bufallo's phone rang. He took it, read the message and exited the room.

"We'll end this conversation later."

"What should I do with the serum?"

"Hide it. But not in some stupid way. Be sure no one unwanted would find it."

The ferret nodded, took the vial and went towards his old, trusted cache.

 _Some weird shit starts happening... I'd better take some time off when my colleaugues come back..._

* * *

Police cruiser parked right next to the block, with two mammals - a fox and a bunny inside it. The duo exited the car and walked into the building, heading for an apartment on the lastest floor.

"So, Slick. Do you think she'd talk?" Judy asked her partner at the doorstep

"I do. If what we found out is true she would prefer us to the Phoenix." the fox replied and knocked at the door

The duo paitiently waited some time, until they heard a sound of glass breaking. Then Nick knocked again.

"ZPD, please open ms. Taylor. We'd like to ask you a few questions!" the fox said

After even more time Judy pressed the doorknob. The door opened, without any sound.

"I don't like this Carrots..." Nick said, pulling out his gun

Thr bunny shared the same feeling. The wooden table in front of them laid downed, with some broken plates on the floor next to it. Two paintings were torn and the light bulb broken, laving the room in the disturbing darkness.

The fox entered the room, carefully checking every corner where the attacker could hide. Judy followed him, with her gun at the ready.

"We've got two more rooms where they could be." Nick whispered "Do we go together or split up?"

"Of course we go together!" Judy replied

Nick walked close to the door and opened it fast, entering the room at the same moment. He quickly looked around, ready to fire a bullet at the possible enemy.

But he saw no enemy. Only the victim.

It was a bedroom. Very poor furnished like the rest of the apartment, only with a bed and a wardrobe.

A beaten, unconsious cat laid on the bed, with a fresh wound on her head. It distracted Nick only for a moment.

But it was enough. At the second the fox looked at the cat someone jumped out of the wardrobe, pushing the fox on the bunny and running into the living room straight away.

"You alright Judy?" Nick asked his partner, getting on his legs

"Yes. Let's get after that... What's his spieces?"

"Hers. She's a fox. I recognised that by her scent. You really okay?"

"Yeah."

"Let's go then." Nick said and run out of the apartment

He ran down the stairs fast, risking falling and breaking his bones, but he notably decreased the distance between him and the female. But it still was too much.

The female fox turned right, with police officer on her back. She ran straight, using all the energy she has, but the distance between ger and the cop was decreasing. Slowly, but steady.

Then she ran into a side street, which Nick knew was a dead end. He stopped right in front of it, pulled out his gun and then entered it. The female fox was opposite there, leaning on the box behind her.

"You've made a big mistake Nicky."

"Wait... Nat? Is that you?"

Nick knew that vixen since pre-school. She was his close friend, until the junior ranger scouts incident happened. Since then he hadn't heard from her, until he met her two years ago.

"So boys weren't joking when they told you are a cop now... Damn. Life surprises every day. But I have to say... You look preety hadsome in that uniform..."

"What are you doing with the Phoenix? Last time I saw you you were striking out on your own! What happened with your restaurant?"

Nat sighed "You know the story. Taxes, bureaucracy, controls... Basicaly every predator trying to set up his own business faces that. I was in a debt, I sold everything I had, but it just wasn't enough. I had only two choices - sell my body, or join the Phoenix. I put my dignity above my full freedom and now I'm here."

"Well, sorry to say that, but... You'll come with me."

"Really? You know how the Phoenix works, what do we plan. And even if those guys" she pointed behind the fox "weren't with me after one day I'd already be out. Corruption ain't the only way."

Nick cursed "So what? You suppose I'd just leave now?"

"I can always try. I know sometimes you're stubborn as hell, but I also know you trust me. And I say if you won't leave you're going to die Nick. Phoenix will react if you interfere with their business."

"Looks like I really don't have a choice, do I?"

"Looks like you're right."

Nick turned around, passed two armored guards and went back to the apartment, right now pissed off at himself. He opened the door and saw his partner, coming out of the kitchen, carrying some painkillers.

"You didn't catch her, did you?" she asked

"She slipped away."

Judy nodded and went inside the bedroom "The victim woke up."

"Did she say anything?"

"No. Looks like she's in some kind of trauma."

"Any idea what caused it?"

"I saw this photo on the floor." the bunny gave it to the fox "It's a picture of a dead male cat. Do you think it might be her husband?"

"Almost a hundred percent. If she's in trauma and this photo has a dead male cat on it, then I don't think there may be another cause."

"We're taking her to the station then?"

"I guess."

The cat was quiet the while time they were going to the precinct. She did what they told her to do, but automatically, like she wasn't there. Nick and Judy took her to the therapist and then to their office.

"Looks like our first lead won't be able to talk for a while." Nick said, sitting on his chair "Who's next?"

"Terry 'tracker' Miller. Racoon, age thirty two. Not any criminal activity."

"Just like with Taylor... Who was he during his years in the Phoenix?"

"Regular. I don't know what that means." Judy said and looked on Nick

"But I know. He was trained to do things just like that anthelope. Speaking about him... Has Wolford and already found anything?"

"No. I asked him on the radio and they denied."

"I wonder what chief bufallo butt would think about us overusing the radio... Back to Terry. He was trained on the reg. He knows how to shoot, fight, escape, parkour... Regular things every full Phoenix 'employee' can do."

"What do we do with him? Interrogate? Arrest?"

"Well... Kinda interrogate. He left the Phoenix and sells info about them."

"Shouldn't he be dead then?"

"He's preety good at hiding and escaping."

"Well, if the stories about the Phoenix you told me were true he's a master of that in fact."

"That's the only reason he's still alive."

"Mhm. What do you mean by 'kinda interrogate'?"

"He knows me and owns me a favor. I'll just ask for what do we want to know and we'll get the murderers." Nick explained

"Sounds like a plan. Let's go!"

The duo made it to the crusier and drove to the location where the racoon lived. Under their earlier discussion Nick went to his apartment, while Judy waited for him in the car.

The apartment was old. Just like Nick's it may have remembered the times of cold war, but opposite it it wasn't renovated. It was a typical low-paid mammals' living place, or a great hideout for ones who needed to stay away from any attention.

The fox knocked at the door and waited patiently. He didn't know how long did he stand there, swept by other mammals' reluctant looks when the door opened.

He saw a skinny, unkempt racoon. The mammal looked like he was in his early fifties. But Nick knew he was only thirty two.

Two predators stood opposite themselves, both of them not wanting to start the conversation.

"Terry. You are a fucking wreck."

"One has luck, so the other one doesn't. You're lucky that I can't check if you drained mine."

"Are you still angry about that?"

"For that?" the mammal pointed at his arm, with a deep scar on it "No. It's just a wound. I'm angry at you beacause of another thing."

"What is it?"

The racoon laughed "We had a deal, don't you remember? You said you'd help me, if I got in any trouble."

"Well, if you remember I also said that I wouldn't if you'd do something stupid. And you did! You were in the Phoenix and you know how they treat mammals who leave."

"We discussed that?"

"Right now I'm more interested in information you're seling. Can we talk about our deals later."

"You're right. I still owe you, don't I?"

"You do." Nick admitted and came in

The apartment wasn't much different of the hall. Well, maybe it was a bit more messy.

"Have you been living on pizza this entire time?" Nick asked, when he saw hundreds, if not thousands of old cardboards

"Nah. Chinese food, bugburga and other shit. I just didn't want it to smell."

"Did it?"

"It's worse than the fucking sewers. I could stand two weeks in there and I can't stand left-overs from chinese food STINK after one week of the box on the floor. Makes you wonder how do they make this... Anyways, what do you want?"

"Have you heard of the shooting in tundratown this night?"

"Is this a rethorical question?"

"Okay. Who's the manager of the..."

"Formally George. But he was shot in head last month and can't really do anything, so Igorovich controls everything."

"Only by hearing that name I have dry mouth..."

The racoon without any word took a bottle from his shelf and poured some liquid into two glasses on the table.

"I really shouldn't drink at work..."

"Just shut up. Cheers."

Both mammals took a sip.

"What is this? I literally feel my throat burn!"

"I don't know. I thought it was whiskey..."

"Better watch out, otherwise you might drink fucking bleach, thinking it's fanta."

Nick put the glass back on the table and looked on the uniform-like outfit in the wardrobe with door made out of glass.

"You still have that?" He asked and went closer, only to see a little signature of an orange bird on it

"Yep. Just couldn't get rid of it."

"That gas mask have survived much..." the fox said, looking on scratched piece of equipment

"Sure it did. I crawled through whole Zootopia sewer system with that on my face."

"Would you do the same if you could rewind the time?"

"No. I fucked totally, being retarded and thinking I know better than highly-qualified scientists. If you ever sign up for the Phoenix, Nick... Don't run away."

"

"I never thought about it." Nick said and turned to the racoon "Back to the subject. Who took part in that shooting?"

The racoon billed a few names, when Nick nothed them. The fox made sure he noted them good and then he went to the door.

"Goodbye Nick. Wish me luck - I will need it..."

"You know, if anyone would like to eliminate you the best way it to shoot throught that window..."

The fox was interrupted by a bang. A second later he saw his colleauge falling on the floor, with no life signs. The fox ran behind the wall dividing the apartment and the hall, hiding from sniper's vision. He made one quick look towards the body of the racoon...

Yep. It was a sniper.

The fox made it downstairs, very carefully. He was sure that the killer would come to see if his bullet hit. Thankfully, he was wrong. He made it downstairs and got inside the car without anyone disturbing him.

"Nick, was that a sniper?" Judy greeted him

"Yes. I have the information I needed."

"What do we do? We could try to catch him."

"Yeah, it might be worth a try." he looked out of the window and saw a small figure, running away "Wait, is that a SCAR-20?"

"Do you think what I'm thinking?"

"If you think that it's the sniper that took part in the shooting in tundratown then you're right. Let's go get him, we might not have a better chance!"

The fox jumped out of the car and then ran towards the sniper, who hid in an alley.

"Can you define his species?" Judy asked

"He has a hoodie, but that moving style is typical for a bunny..."

"That just confirmed what I thought."

They ran into the alley, with their tranq guns ready to fire.

"God, that was stupid."

"Why?"

"He could've been waiting. He could've shot us. And we just ran in. Wait. What are they doing?"

"You're a disgrace to your own kind! Dating a fucking fox?" he heard a voice in front of him, not so far away

"Would you move your fucking asses?"

Nick frowned. That definitely was a feminine voice. The fox quietly alowed and went further, with the bunny on his back

"You hear that boys? She does have fucking temper! What if we show her the real way?" Nick peeked from the corner and saw three male rabbits, blocking a female bunny from passing through a gate

"Do you know what do I have in that case on my back?"

"No. And it doesn't matter, you fucking slut!"

"Enough." she pulled out a 12mm pistol from her hidden holster and aimed for the rabbit head

It took them only a second to realise what happened

"Whoa, calm down! We didn't mean any harm!" one of them said

"Paws on head and one of you unlock that fucking gate."

"Okay, okay. Just... Let's stay cool, shall we?"

"You have luck I have no time..."

"Okay, enough. ZPD! Everyone put you paws in the air! Aspecially you lady!" Judy shouted, coming out of her hideout

The rabbit looked on the guns Nick and Judy held and burst out a laugh "Really? Do you really think you can harm me with those toys?"

"Quit it. You're under arrest." Nick replied

"Okay then. What do you choose? A life of a young rabit, filled with hormones, not accepting the others, or catching me?" she replied, not moving her paw

"Don't make your situation worse than it already is. You kill mammals. What does the law said about it?" Judy asked

"Not good? And what about them? What if they killed too? If they had a family? If they did it, because they had no other choice? Does that change anything?"

"What makes you a good person for deciding this kind of stuff?"

"And what makes you?"

"Enough of that. I'll count to three and you'll stop aiming that rabbit." Nick interrupted them

"Fine by me." the sniper replied and aimed for Judy

"Throw the gun. Now!" Nick snarled

"Oh, is the big, good officer more angry now? Let me go, or I will shoot, I swear to god!"

"Then we'll just have to see who's faster."

"Not gonna happen." she replied, shot right next to Judy's head and ran on the wall, climbing fast

Three second Nick spent to look if Judy really was shot were enough. The bunny was already on the roof, showing her middle finger to the cops.

"And the next time better use the advantage of someone standing turned to you!" she shouted

Nick cursed, tried to shoot her without any chance of success and spoke to the rabbits who stopped the sniper in the first place.

"Why did you stop her?"

"Mac saw her on a date with a fox." one of them replied, pointing at the other one

"Well, it surely is a crime of the century, then." Nick replied, quite unkindly

"Geez, chill dude it's nothing personal."

"What is it, then?"

"If you're a bunny you date a bunny. If you're a dox you date a vixen. Simple? Like two plus two is four."

"Let's go, before we hear more of their mind sharpness." Nick apoke to Judy and went to the crusier

The duo entered the car and drove off in silence.

"Nick... You know, most bunnies aren't like that..."

"Then what are they like?"

"Nick, they were just some regular jerks! I'm sure you know foxes who are jerks too!"

"Well, you're right. Sorry."

"Nick, you don't have to be sorry. You're funny, a good friend, a good mammal and there's nothing you have to be sorry for!"

"You really don't know me, Judy..."

They were silent for the rest of the drive. When they got to the station Judy went to their office and Nick wandered to get some coffee.

"So, you've got the information you needed?"

"Yes. All of the names. But to be honest we only need to catch one mammmal."

"Really?"

"Yes. Only one mammal is needed to bring all of them to justice."

"So, how do we find him?"

"That's not the question. The question is how do we catch him."

"Why?"

"I more or less know where he is. The problem is to get him out. Even if he gets out of his hideout you saw what the Phoenix is capable of today."

Judy shook her head and then looked at the clock "Wait, what? It's already end of the shift?"

She shook her head again, took a sip of coffee, checked her mail and spoke:

"Time is damn quick, isn't it?"

"When you're busy... Have any plans for the weekend?"

"Why do you ask?" Judy replied, trying not to show that she is really interested in what he just said

"I have none. Do you want to do something together? You know, friends?

"Well... I have none too! What do you want to do?"

"I'll... Figure something out. See you tommorow, then!" Nick said and went out of the office

"Bye." Judy replied and made sure he has already gone

She smiled. She loved spending time with her partner. Well, for reasonible part of the brain a bit too much. But those thoughts were not important for her at the moment.

"Yes, yes, yes!" she said, collecting her things

ooooooooooooooooooo

"I'll tell you only one thing. What the fuck!?"

The mammal in the dark didn't look like he cared about the outrage of the lion oposite him. He just drew on his cigarette and waited for the mammal to continue.

"We almost killed Wenson. We captured Jack. Nat is beating Taylor to death right now. Do you know how many attention is this drawing?"

"Do you know why are we doing this?"

"No, I don't."

"You know how things were before the five conference. Murder. Robberies. Distrust. Paranoia. After that we decided to try something different than a firm paw. To try to hold our sovereignty with no use of strength. I never thought that would work. Tell me, Gerard - who thought different?"

"Everyone else?"

"No one. Not a single fucking person. Only thing that made us stop being so hard on them was lack of mammals and need for more."

"What did the rest of the organisations do?"

"Do not try to get off the subject."

"Why do you care now? Did they piss you off, or something?"

"I am patient. I really am. I just don't tolerate cheekiness. Would you try to steal from the strongest crime organisation in a city like Zootopia? A thing that they consider much more valuable than it is? In a highly secured place?"

"I..."

"Just use your common sense goddammit! Would a normal mammal do it?"

"Well... Don't think so."

"Then explain why the fuck did they try to rob our night howler serum magazine."

"No bullshit. Did they?"

"Would I joke about that?"

"No."

"Exactly. You can't discuss with someone like our 'co-workers'. They respect only one thing. Strength. Raw strengh. If you kick their asses hard enough - they'll be quiet and pick up left-overs from our job. Unfortunately - they think they can fight us, equipped with professional equipment with their fifteen year old 'gangsters', who had never seen any good fight. Do you understand now?"

The lion nodded "Is was a last warning wasn't it?"

"What?"

"That shooting nearby our magazine. It was a message, right? Something like 'or you fuck off, or you'll die'?"

"Good thing all mammals around me are dependable, otherwise I'd have to watch out every minute... You got an a from me. And a task."

Gerard groaned out "Another one? I need some rest too!"

"I remind you, last two years all your work was getting laid, boredom, drinking and surviving hangovers. Well, sometimes when you were less lucky jerking off to Gazelles photo. The mild years are over. Now comes the hard work. I'll give you an advise. Start training again."

"I do it every day. It's hard to get rid of old habits."

"Good to know."

"Well, these don't just grow."

"About the task." "Just like Jack someone thinks that he can just stand us up without any reaction."

"Who?"

"One of our... I don't remember. But if we won't react on that, no one would take us seriously later."

"You know, the shooting will make them think."

"I highly doubt it. Just go there and scare him. Tell him you'd burn his house, rape his wife, kill his kids... Just make him certain that we will not lay back."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"How can you see the difference between day and night here?" the bufallo asked while looking out of the window, straight in the dark

"Uhm... By sleeping?"

The bufallo sighed and took another sip from the cup, just like the black wolf opposite him. They sat in silence for a while, only to be interrupted by bufallo's phone a second later.

"Wife?" the wolf asked, when Bogo read the message

"You guessed it. She thinks I'm working overtime... I hate lying to her." he confessed, hiding the phone in his jacket's pocket

"You know, I could've put that later."

"No. This can't wait. Your father waited and now they've grown too much." the bufallo replied and took another sip

"Like weed?"

"Exactly. Good comparison."

"Where's your friend?" the wolf asked and looked at the street through the window "He said he would be here in five minutes like fifteen minutes ago."

"He's a busy one. Not in the job, though..."

"Yeah, Nigel's a great scientist. Remember when he made those firecrackers out of nowhere?" Ernest asked, reminding them of their childhood years

"Now I wonder how much did he learn when he was young..."

"At least he had us."

"Yep... At least he had us..." Bogo said and took another sip

"You really shoudn't get drunk Bogo."

"I won't."

"I highly doubt it. I'd better put the flask back in the cupboard, before you drink everything..."

"Why this guy, Bogo? Everyone else, but him! Why?"

Ernest turned to the door, only to see a familiar face. He knew Nigel very long, although their relationship wasn't so good most of the time.

"Yeah, it's nice to see you again too, Nigel..."

"Shush it. Have you got what I asked for?" Bogo silenced them

"Patrolling cops would have killed me, if they found out... Here it is." Nigel said and put a vial filled with blyr liquid on the table

"No kidding." Ernest said with disbelief in his voice

"Trust me, it's not a joke." Nigel replied and smiled a bit "But it would be a good joke..."

"How did you get it? I know mammals who could pay very much for one of these..." Ernest said, picking up the vial

"How much exactly?" Nigel asked, ignoring Bogo's look

"Hard to assume... It depends who's buying, but it usually is half a million..."

"What?!" Bogo shouted

"...up to three million dollars..." Ernest ended, still not believing

"Three million!?" Bogo shouted onve again, grabbing his head

"It's another sharpness of today's mammal mind I everyday wonder about." Nigel replied and sat on the chair "And by the way... Hi Ernest. How it's going?"

"Good. I finally have time to spend with my girlfriend, they have finally fixed that electricity problem in my apartment and I well... Live."

"How about the family? Everything's good?"

"Yeah. My stupid little brother joined the ZDP well..." the wolf looked at the clock "...yes, still today. Wanted to tread in father's footsteps... Yeah, that's the Phoenix one. To put it simply: to nice to be Bellwether's." Ernest changed the topic watching the liquid from behind the light

"What do you mean by 'nice'?" Bogo asked

"Look. It has a nice shade of blue, much brighter than original one. Kinda blueberry colour." Ernest gave the bufallo the vial

"Yeah, I see." the bufallo returned the vial to his friend "Any more information what it does?"

"I observed increases of physical strength, endurance, pain resistance, speed and a little increase in hostility. It also affects your senses, aspecially seeing, smelling and hearing." Nigel replied

"Nothing else?" Ernest asked

"These are the effects of my observations. There might be more. I don't know that."

"Black. Where in Zootopia can you produce that?" Bogo asked, putting a map of Zootopia on the table

"Only place that comes to my mind is Rainforest district and it's abandoned military complexes. Since no one has found all of it and the military won't use them again it's the best spot." Ernest said "I can't show them on the map. They are spread throughout the district, like mammals brain on the wall after a shot of a shotgun."

"Those factories. Excluding nocturnal district?" Bogo asked

"Exactly. You know how situation looks there. No one controls anything, chaos, disorder and shit."

"Acutally, no one knows how situation looks. It's a total fuckup." Nigel corrected

"Couldn't describe it better." the bufallo agreed

"To be honest it really depends where you are. There's a big variety in nocturnal district." Ernest diaagreed

"When it comes to what?" Nigel asked

"Everything. It's a total mix of cultures, nations, beliefs, ideologies... Oh, wait! Nigel, does it change in anything in hormones?"

"The serum? Yeah. It stimulates the producrion of noradrenaline."

"Noradrenaline?" Bogo asked

"Some call it 'hormone of a fighter'. Just like adrenaline it's produced in adrenal gland. It's just its opposite. Adrebaline prepares you to run, when noradrenaline helps you fight." Ernest explained

"Yup. There ain't much to be added." Nigel agreed

"Well, looks like it's a totally opposite to what I was thinking it was." Bogo muttered "It's like a backup, isn't it?"

"Yeah. I don't know what does it do long-term, but from what I saw it isn't anything good." Nigel said

"Yeah. From what I know it's hard to tell if you go nuts after first dose of that 'backup'. First you use low percentage night howler serum to prepare yourself. Then, after quite a long time you can take it."

"Playing with fire, isn't it?" Bogo asked

"Sometimes taking the risk brings more profit than without..." Ernest nodded "If that's all I think we should countinue this later. I understand that you don't want it to prolong, but it's extremely late."

"You're right. Rainforest district?" Bogo asked and took his notepad and pen

"Yes. Rainforest district."

* * *

The rainforest district had much more secrets than city guides could tell. There were countless times when mammals went somewhere and didn't come back. There were many old military complexes, warehouses, hangars...

Just like the one where the bosses of Zootopian underworld met. It wasn't anything special. Rust on the walls, almost no floor, broken windows... Standard in these area.

An outside witness couldn't resemble which Zootopian crime lords sat there, around big, metal table. But any criminal who would happen to be there would simply run away, hoping they didn't see him.

Around the table sat: A skunk, known as 'smelly Harry', of course when he wasn't around. He was the most influencial mammal in sliver paws crime organisation, ruling meadowlands district underworld.

On his left there was a Hyena called Zeb, a boss in crime organisation ruling savanna central, not related to any big gang wars. Right now he was playing with a knife. He was just a figurehead, like five more mammals there, used by bigger players to achieve their goals. Despite that he had a bigger position than the others.

Another important mammal in the hangar was mr. Big himself, ruling tundratown district, with his inseparable polar bear bodyguards. He was sitting next to another big player - a small, innocent looking buck, whose name was Rick. He ruled the second biggest crime oeganisation in Zootopia, called the Prides, acting in Canal district, Rainforest district and sahara square.

And there of course was Perry Felix, a mysterious wisent, the absolute dictator in drug cartels taking place in Zootopia.

All the bosses brought their bodyguards with them. Except for minor figureheads. They all talked quietly, making deals when doors opened and a masked mammal dressed in black came in. The room went silent exactly as he came. They all waited for him.

"Hello everyone. Thank you for waiting." he greeted them and walked closer to the table

The first thing everyone saw was that the mammal didn't want to reaveal his or hers identity. No scent, no visible fur, muffled, although hearable voice...

"Why did you call us all here?" Harry asked, sctraching back of his neck

"Good question. I'm a mammal of business, so I'll cut to the point. Do you think Bellwether worked alone?"

He was answered by a choir of voices, each one trying to suggest their own opinion.

"Well, she wasn't. And she wasn't the creator of the plan."

"Who was she then?" Mr. Big asked

"One of many figureheads in the world. She was only supposed to do the first part of the plan. Nobody thought she'd do it, but if she'd do it it'd be much easier..." the mammal stopped and cursed quietly "Damn, I came into details again."

"Okay, why have called us to come?" Perry asked

"I want to make a proposal." the mammal clicked his fingers and let in another masked mammal, carrying a cardboard box

The mammal put the box on tge table and immediately exited the room. The first one waited for a bit to see them getting impatient and then opened the box.

Not any of crime bosses looked there. It wasn't because they were serious, it was because of showing that he'd have to offer much to convince them to help him. The reason was obvious. More money.

Then, one of the figureheads finally decided to take a look. A bear stood up, looked in the box and then looked on the masked mammal with a mix of fear, anger, contempt but also curiosity.

"Are you from that Bellwether's gang or something?" he asked, with tone of his voice hard to determine

"No. I was sent by a mammal who ordered her." the masked mammal replied

"What's in there?" Rick asked

"Night howlers... Or something similiar... Like... like bullets."

"Show me." the wisent stood up, took one round and looked at it carefully

"What do you see, Perry?" Mr. Big asked

"It's not Bellwether's nor Phoenix. I... I don't know what it is." the wisent confessed

"It's improved Bellwether's serum. The ZPD won't cure a mammal who was shot with that with their regular medicine." the masked mammal explained

"Really? What's its percentage?" the wisent asked with a bit of curiosity in his voice

"Point fourty-three."

"Probably the best you could get... How much will you pay us for shooting mammals with it?" Perry asked, correctly guessing what the mammal wanted from them

"One million dollars per gang. No minors and no negotiations. Is everybody alright with that?" everyone agreed, although some not so fervently than the others "Good. My plan is simple. Right now you wil only recieve this serum and when I'll tell you you are going to strike every mammal that you can shoot."

"Prey too?" one of the minors asked, quite confused

"I want to turn the stability in the city by one hundred-eighty degree. The more savage mammals running around - the better. That's all for now. Shipments will start arriving soon." the mammal clicked his fingers again and the same mammal walked in, took the box and went away of the hangar

The first mammal himself went away, just before the second one. He smiled under his mask. The first phase was over. Now was the time for the second one.

* * *

Two twin foxes greeted the wisent as he stood right in front of them. They didn't tell him to piss off, but he could feel that they wanted it.

The building they were guarding was a wooden shed, deep in the rainforest district woods, in the place abamdoned by everyone and everything. It was quite destroyed. Glass was broken, wood decayed and the roof almost completly on the floor.

He decided to risk it "Has the interrogation already started?" he asked

"What... Interrogation?"

 _Bingo._ The wisent thought. That little change in tone of the voice showed him that he was only acting. The fox knew he knew.

"Listen... David, I do have some questions to him too and you know I know how good sniper Amanda is. I wouldn't come here if I hadn't had a good reason." he said disarmingly frank

The fox cursed under his breath "Fine. Bit if you try any tricks you'll end just like him. And don't tell anyone about that."

He turned around and opened the door to the shed. Perry entered it with the other fox on his back. He looked around, trying to find some sort of entrance to another room.

The fox walked to the middle of the building, flicked some rubble and trash from the floor and opened a basically invisible trapdoor. He pointed the wisent to go first, entered the shaft too and closed the trapdoor.

There was a ladder, around five meters long. When the wisent made it to the very bottom he saw a room that he would mist likely see in a horror movie. A massacred monkey, with his paws attached to the celling, with most fingers and both ears cut, his fur in blood, half of his teeth pulled. The wisent couldn't hold it. He bent and threw up in the corner.

"You're fucking sick... Fucking sick..."

"Are you talking about the Phoenix as one or as specific indivisuals?" he heard a tired female voice

The wisent prepared himelf and raised his eyes. This time he stopped vomiting reflex and saw more details he wouldn't like to see.

The floor ans walls were made out of concrete. The room itself was quite big. It sure could store a lot of supplies in case of emergency, bit right now it was used as a torture chamber.

The wisent saw multiple tools on two or three tables around the monkey. On the second end of the room he saw two or three cabinets and in the right corner on the back a desk with a computer on it.

Perry looked where the voice was coming from. He saw a female cat, wearing an apron covered in blood.

She probably was a torturer - a mammal trained aspecially to make mammals talk or regret. Trained well and deadly.

"Why the fuck are you here anyway?" she asked, more because of a rule, not because she cared much

"I wanted to know what did that fucker want to do. Guess I'm too late." Peery pointed at the monkey

"No. His boss prepaired the whole plan to work without him. And I've already got everything I want." she replied

"Then can you tell me what do they want to achieve?" Perry asked

"And why would I do that?"

"Well, I'll say preety please."

The cat laughed a bit "They want to turn the city into a civil war scenery, only to proove that ZPD can't do shit and then take full control of the city. And then they'll stab us in the backand eliminate us all." she explained "Not a complicated plot."

"Looks like he resisted hard..." Perry said and looked at the monkey once again, on the one paw not wanting to see it, but on the other paw his eyes craved for blood, his sight moved from deep cuts that showed glistening flesh to places burnt by fire

"Sure he did. He gave up after I cut him deep under his eye. When they imagine lose of the eye it's usually enough for 'em." she pointed at the cut

"I really don't want to hear the details. Did he tell you how are they going to handle that Yugoslavia breakup-like scenario?" he asked

"He told me something about cure they made and other shit."

"You don't believe him?"

"They wouldn't have enough cure to do it. And it'd need to work, which is less likely than alnoat impissible. We'd have to interfere." she said, with much confidence in her voice

"And if I undersrand correctly you won't do it."

"Exactly. But not because it's not our business."

"Why?" Perry asked

"We don't have enough mammals to do so. Fully trained 'soldiers' are a small number in our ranks. They cover a small part in our possesions in Nocturnal district. Like... Twenty percent. The rest are more like others' mammals. You know the story. Only pistols, not any psecialist equipment, although they are still better than others." the cat said

"Why are you telling me that? Shouldn't this be a classified information?"

"It actually is..." Daniel said, glaring the cat

"There's no bad thing in telling covert info. Bad thing is in telling that to the others. But that's why I'm here." she explained

"Okay. Did he tell you who was he working to?"

Cat hawked on the floor "Some high-rank politician. That's weird. But also not my business. I'll let the HQ worry about that."

 _Oh, trust me it will be when you'll be fighting on some street..._ Perry thought and looked at his watch "Well, I've got to get going. Have fun."

"And you ask what is wrong with me? Have fun?" the feline asked, with fake anger in her voice

The wisent turned around and climbed up the ladder leading to the exit.

He exited the shed and went to the place where his limo was.

Perry got inside the car, with his bodyguard sitting opposite him. He took a swing of his drink and spoke:

"Well, that wasn't what we expected, did we?" he asked Dean, his most trusted bodyguard

"Do you know what you wanted to know?" the jaguar asked

The wisent took anther swing, closed his eyes and spoke

"Through my life I never thought I could influence the world. Now I have the occasion. What are we seeing right now ain't just some regular mess on Zootopia crime scene. It's a battle and the result will be crucial in the fight that takes place since non-savage prey and predator mammals met on the place where that fountain stands."

"Now you talk like... You know who."

"I don't care. This is really happening and I have a chance to take place in a fight that won't leave mammals who won't be influenced by it."

"You know this is a conspiracy theory, right?"

"Conspiracy theories stop being theories when you have proof. And I have proof. A lot of proof. I'm just too lazy to show it to anyone."

"You have taken something, didn't you? Harold? Take us to Perry's house." the jaguar spoke to the driver

"Definitely, sir."

"You'll see. You'll all bloody see."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

"Okay, Wilde. Where do you want to take her? And what is it going to be?"

Nick sat on the chair in his room and slowly chewed tip of a pen in his mouth. He looked on the list on the desk in front of him and leaned back.

He had a dilemma right now. He wanted to take his best friend to a nice place. He knew she deserved it and he wanted that to happen. He wanted her to have fun, to relax after this week. It was quite tiring - not including the parking incident and later events they also catched a drug dealer and a burglar.

On the other paw he knew spring was starting soon. He always was perceptive and noticed certain behaviour between bunnies in that time. He certainly didn't want her to think that there was something more between them than friendship. He had friends, whose relationships got destroyed after not being catious in the mating season. And yes, there were those pills, but after some private resarch showed up on the internet vast majority of mammals started to use traditional methods of dealing with that. And bunnies had it the worst.

"So, where?" Nick asked himself, once again looking at the list

He had many options there, but after more careful inspection he deleted many of them, because of... Various reasons.

On the top of the list there were only restaurants, although the variety of options didn't make it an easy choice. Zootopia was a total mix of cultures. In only one day Nick counted more than fifty different nationalities on the street. That's why the variety of restaurants was so big.

But for Nick only four cusines mattered. Mexican, Norwegian, Italian and Polish. Those were the types of cusine he liked.

But which were Judy's favourite? Nick hadn't asked Judy about that, but he observed her a lot during the patrols. _Fin would've probably said that I fell in love with her... What a nonsense._ He remembered what she ordered multiple times they were eating during their patrols and when they earlier eaten in restaurants.

From his observations he could tell that she liked italian cusine the most. That was good. It had vegetarian dishes and he liked it too. He also knew a few good Italian restaurants.

"Okay. First one done. Now do I take her somewhere else?" he muttered and started thinking again

He had many options. Like in every town Zootopia had countless places where mammals could have fun, from those family friendly to infamous Mount Olympus.

Nick didn't know what to choose in that sector. He wandered from option to option, not being able to decide. Then, after a look on categories he finally decided.

There was a very nice place not known well. It was quite nice - cheap, tolerant and peaceful. It also wasn't ill-looking. The owner did know how to make a good looking place with lack of money and resources.

It was a unusual place. Since Nick heard about it he searched if there was another one, but he found nothing. If Nick had to explain what was it like his first thought would be a bar. But it wouldn't be what anyone could expect.

When a person entered the bar they'd see a enormous room, with tables for mammals in all sizes and a glass wall, giving an ability to see a beautiful view of Zootopia. The place was far away, but Nick knew it was worth it.

"So, everything's solved." he muttered "Only to book a table now..."

The fox stopped in half of the sentence. Pieces of a puzzle, straying in his mind for quite a while finally came together.

He quickly grabbed his phone and called Wolfard.

"Wilde, what's happening?" he heard wolf's sleepy voice

"It's about Wenson's case." Nick replied

"Couldn't you wait 'till tommorow?"

"Do you still wonder who was that drug transport going to?" the fox ignored the question

"Yeah. We've got a few leads, but they're all uncertain. Why?"

"Well, bureaucracy might have just saved you. He parked in the city hall. If you're fast enough you might still find the report who was the transport from and who was it going to."

"Sometimes I wonder how do you come up with all of this Wilde."

"It just happens. Just hurry up, the file won't be held forever."

* * *

Wolfard put down the phone. He took a sip of coffee from a cup he held in his left paw and spoke to the feline on his right:

"Wilde came up with something."

"What is it?"

"Wenson parked in city hall parking. If he delivered those drugs there then they would have a report about that." the wolf explained

"That could actually work... I remember when my cousin wanted to build a house on his parcel in city downtown... The about of files he had to give them was enormous..."

Without replying Wolfard started the engine and drove out of the parking they were on. He drove through empty streets, heading for city hall.

"I lived here for so many years and I still can't get used to such empty streets during the night." Fangmeyer spoke out of nowhere

"You know, most of Zootopian night life takes place in Nocturnal district."

"I know, it's just..."

"I know. Everyone feels the same."

When two mammals arrived at the parking they got out of the car and walked towards the city hall.

"They did clean this mess up fast." Fangmeyer said, looking at the place where the crime happened

"They did it only because it made their public image worse. It's also the reason why it's not in the media... Yet." Wolfard replied

"Yet?"

"They look for a reasonable explanation for this."

"If what you're saying is true it also explains their other actions..."

"Yeah."

The wolf opened the door and entered the building. He moved towards receptionist desk, with the tiger following him.

"Hello, officers. How can I help you?" a receptionist doe asked

"We'd like to see the reports from two days ago." Wolfard replied, with a smile

"Straight to the point, huh?" the doe replied, turned around on the chair and opened a box file "Here you go."

"Thank you very much." the wolf replied

"Are you actually allowed to hand us that file?" Fangmeyer asked with a bit of concern in his voice

"No. Go away, fast. Maybe you'd do what the others couldn't." she replied and turned around, considering the dialogue finished

Famgmeyer opened his maw, like he wanted to say something, but after he saw Wolfard shaking his head he just closed it and entered the building with the wolf. The duo walked to their crusier in silence and after getting in they decided to drive to the precinct.

"Let's see what do we have here, then." Wolfard said and put the file on the desk

"Felix?" Fangmeyer said, more ascertaining than asking

"Yeah. Who would expect something else? Fucker controls every drug cartel in here." Wolfard replied

"Who ordered it?"

"David Jones. A zebra. Ring any bells?" Wolfard replied and turned to the tiger on the chair

"Never heard of him. You?"

"Here's what I know. Guy's subname is Jones. The drugs were ordered to city hall. One of the most influencial and probably most corrupted politician is also called Jones and he's a zebra too. Draw your own conclusions."

"That wouldn't make him popular in next elections." Fangmeyer replied and walked to a little fridge on his desk

"I can already see Tamara Rose getting her paws on the topic." Wolfard said amd turned to the desk

"That intrusive journalist?" Fangmeyer asked, opening the fridge, picking up a bottle of water from it and closing it

"Exactly."

Tamara Rose was one of those uncommon journalists who just wanted to show truth to the world. She published many books which showed the level of corruption in Zootopia, how many oligarchs were in the goverment, how the goverment did what it wanted, the situation in Nocturnal district...

She cooperated with some of ZPD somewhat. Of course, not with those she was exposing and not with relatives of oligarchs ruling Zootopia. Not all cops liked that, but that cooperation often made certain cases much easier to solve. It was a kind of tolerant co-existence.

The most visible effect of that cooperation was the fact that she was still alive. She had many enemies, although her actions led to fall of many of them. But for her it still wasn't enough.

"Yeah, for some she's a bitch and for some a prophet. And the truth is somewhere in the middle..." Fangmeyer said, opened the bottle and took a sip

"I might consider asking her about that guy." Wolfard replied and turned on his computer, waiting to open his e-mail

* * *

"Argh! Morherfu..."

"Shush it and don't waste our stuff."

"Fuck you. It's your fault that Wenson got caught."

The zebra shook his head and rubbed his nose, trying to sweep white powder out of it. He cursed quietly under his nose and straightened the collar on his white elegant shirt.

Even though Perry Felix made the best drugs in the city most of the oligarchs in Prey Rights Council preferred other suppliers' cocaine. The zebra took a roll he used to take the drug and handed it to the sheep opposite him.

"I saved that for you. Better enjoy it." he said and leaned back on the chair "Fuck, life's good..."

The sheep took the drug and the looked right, on the hooker that laid on zebra's office couch.

"Is she..."

"No. But it was preety close."

"Do you even consider to pretent who you are in the public while being private?" the sheep asked, leaning above the desk and taking the drug

"Will you ever consider to shut the fuck up? It's my word that rule here. One more unnesessary word and I swear to fucking god, I'll fry you in oil, find your parents and then make them eat you."

"We fucking made a deal that we..."

"I know, just fucking with ya. Is ZPD after us?" the zebra cut his colleaugue off

"Why do you ask?"

"I saw them chasing Max. You know, that Phoenix anthelope." the zebra replied

"If they draw proper conclusions they will be."

"Fuck. I knew we shouldn't let Black in change." the zebra said, not hiding his hate for the mammal

"May he burn in hell. Actually, he started everything. Bogo, Lionheart..."

"You don't have to tell me that." the zebra opened his eyes and hid a plastic bag with certain white powder in one of the drawers of his desk "Well, now we have to figure out how do we put in charge our mayor of Zootopia. Any ideas?"

"Well, you always do election campaign, so I think we could persuade some crime organisations to scare off potential enemies." the sheep replied, mopping his nose

"We always thought about that, but we never found a good price."

"Give them Nocturnal district. We don't want it and it's a titbit for them."

"Wait. This is actually... Holy shit. Where have you been, when all those idiots worked with me? It's so obvious, but none of them had figured that out!" the zebra said, hitting his desk with his hoof

"Sometimes it's hard to spot what is and waht isn't obvious..."

"Don't you fucking defend them. They have consueled me bad from the beggining." the zebra interrupted the sheep, pointing his hoof at the mammal "But really, what have you been doing through years when those retards sucked my blood like fucking leeches?" the zebra asked, hitting the desk

"I was managing police forces. And then this motherfucker came in and Black took the stick." the ram replied

"Wait. It was you, who changed extremely good ZPD to the state it is like today in Nocturnal district?"

"Yeah. It was tough, but..."

"I know, I know! I have only one question right now. Who the fuck made you go away?"

"Pawson. He replaced me with empty-head motherfucker who got bored of recieving welfare and decided to play politics."

"It happened before fourteenth of november 1982, didn't it?"

"Did you figure that out by Black's assigment date?"

"Exactly. When I heard about it I thought I'd storm that guy's office and just end him, but looks like stupid mammals are luck's pupils." he said with resignance in his tone

"Why?"

"He happened to be on vacation. After he came back I was already busy fixing Black's actions. Now he still sits there, the only difference is fact that he's stopped destroying my plans."

"Can't really say it'a a good change."

"I'd like to make him pay, but I have other priorities right now." the zebra said and went out of his office

* * *

The first thing that brought Jack's attention was the inability to move. He looked around and saw that he was strapped to some kind of a chair. He tried to force the ropes he was tied with to the chair, but after a few unsuccessful tries he stopped and tried to examine where he was.

The porcupine looked around, only to realise how deeply fucked he was. The room had concrete walls, the floor was covered in dries blood and the door was blocked.

After that he also saw a table with things that psychopaths would describe as 'toys'. Knives, drills, pillers, nails, hammers, in many sizes and differently sharpened. After a better look he also saw some syringes, probably with adrenaline.

 _Fuck, fuck, fuck. Not good. Okay. I have to calm down... Inhale... Exhale... Inhale... Exhale... Inhale... Exhale._

He tried to force the ropes once again, but this time he tried until he knew it wouldn't work.

Then the door opened and a short tiger came in with a clipboard in his paw. He wrote something on it and then he put it on the table and walked towards the porcupine.

"So, looks like you ate more than you could, didn't you Jack? You can never have enough, don't you?" the tiger turned around and browsed through tools on the table "Fucking got from homeless to rich, still not enough..."

"Why am I here?"

"When do we torture mammals? Well, you'd probably respond that you don't know, but we both know you have the files about that."

"I..."

"Shh." the tiger placed his finger on porcupine's lips "Now you respond only if I want to."

Jack closed his mouth and looked down. He knew he was going too far, but the opportunity to profit made him blind.

Meanwhile the tiger checked if all of his tools were on the table and then walked towards the chair.

"Now, I want to know some things. First, personality of all your informers. Second, I want to know where your server with your most valuable data is. Then password to your Swiss bank account. And then... We'll see."

"We?"

"First warning. You answer questions. Not ask them."

"Listen, I can't tell you who..."

He was silenced by tiger's fist. The mammal hit the porcupine, without any warning.

"Answer."

Jack didn't feel any pain. He was only shocked.

"Answer!"

"I... I..."

"What, do I have to speak another language? Fucking answer! Who are your informers?! Names, adresses, prices, IDs..."

"I... I can't tell. You won't unders..."

The tiger unexpectedly grabbed porcupine's paw and clenched it. Jack's nerves didn't leave them waiting as the porcupine cried in pain, trying to break free. The tiger sqeezed it even harder, making small bones in porcupine's paw move and causing pain. Then the tiger let go.

"Won't tell? I wonder why do you think you can stand all the things I do to you... You lack both the courage and determination. Life ain't a movie where they pull out your claws and you tell them to go fuck themselves with a bright smile on your face. And you'll see why, if you don't cooperate... So. Who are your informers?"

"I won't smile... But I will say... Fuck you."

Jack would probably be less scared if the tiger burst in rage and started to beat him up, but a vike smile upon tiger's maw made him shake in fear. The feeling got even worse when he saw the tiger enjoyed seeing him being so scared and helpless.

"Fuck you... Huh." the tiger turned around and picked combination pliers from it "And I thought it would be easy..." he said and faced the porcupine "So, Jack... Do you want the easy way? I don't think so."

Right after these words he held porcupine's paw down and started pulling one of his claws off. Not so fast, so the pain would last longer and not so slow, so the pain would be stronger.

Jack started to yell in panic, as he felt the pain spread from the tip of his finger to his forearm. He tried to force his paw out of tiger's grip, but the mammal held tight. After only fifteen seconds, which felt like a painful eternity to the porcupine the claw was pulled.

The tiger grabbed and show it to the porcupine "It's the first. Fifteen more. And then we can get to smashing and breaking your fingers... It's especially painfull after pulling the claws..."

"I'm not... Telling..."

"Now, I'm concerned if it's fear, being stupid or needless bravery. Fucking look at your finger!" Jack didn't listen "So it's needless bravery or being scared. It doesn't matter for me, the only thing that does is if you tell, or not. So tell me those bloody names."

"I won't..."

"Your choice." the tiger replied and started to pull out the second claw, not paying attention to screams full of pain.

He continued until he pulled the last. Then he placed all of them on his paw and show it to the porcupine.

"Was it really worth it? Who are you covering, motherfucker?"

Jack didn't answer. The tiger frowned and pulled porcupine's head resting on his chest up, only to see it falling down again.

He smiled "Looks like you couldn't stand that. Wait until we get to the real thing..."

The tiger turned around and picked up a syringe. Then he injected the andrenaline into porcupine's veins and waited for him to wake up.

Jack slowly rose his head and looked down, to look at his paws. He groaned out when he saw blood covering almost all of his fingers.

"If you're looking for them - here they are." the tiger said and showed pulled out claws on his blood-covered paw to the porcupine "You have an urgent need to talk, or do you still wanna play hero?"

As an answer Jack just spat on the tiger

"That's a shame." the tiger streched, put the pilers on the table and picked up a long needle "Do you know why pulling is first?" he walked towards the chair "Now they are more vunerable to pain. So, if I grab one of them..." he grabbed one of porcupine's fingers "...and sqeezed hard..." Jack yelled and a second after the tiger let go "And there's a very nice trick with this..." the tiger showed the needle to the porcupine, who started to fight with the ropes once again, only to fail

The tiger grabbed the finger once again and put the needle into the hole that was made after pulling the claws. Very slowly, so the pain would last longer.

Jack started to fight and scream once again, this time more effectively, but still - he couldn't do it. After three minutes of suffering the tiger stopped.

"Feel like talking?" he asked

"Yeah... I'd like to tell... one thing... to your boss..."

"What is it? Fuck you?"

"No. Go fuck... Yoursel-" the tiger hit the porcupine in the face, not letting him finish

"You do have courage. But I wonder how many of it will be left, after I do the same with all of your fingers..."

After fifteen minutes the tiger moved to breaking Jack's fingers. It took only two of them for the porcupine to start talking.

"Stop! I'll... I'll talk."

"Nothing makes courage go off better than soud of those little bones in fingers breaking." the tiger replied, smiling mischievously

"Once again... What did you... Want to know?"

"First, personality of all your informers ee don't know about. Second, I want to know where your server with your most valuable data is. Then password to your Swiss bank account."

"Give me... Some painkillers... Please..."

The tiger took anotger syringe from the desk and injected it into porcupine's veins.

"Morphine. Give it some time." he said and sat on the edge of the table

After a bit more than half a minute Jack spoke:

"Thanks."

"Now, the informers. I didn't waste one syringe for your shit-talk. I don't care about good manners either. So no 'thanks', 'please' or other bullshit like that."

"The info about ZPD. Only one source you didn't know. George Evans, a mouse from Rainforest precinct. Info about other organised criminal organisations. No one you wouldn't know about. Mand about you. You have a mole. That's the first one. And I still have access to one of Crawford's serwers."

"How many of them left?" the tiger interrupted

"I have no idea." Jack responded and after the tiger standing up he quickly added "I'm serious, I really don't know! He never told me that and I only saw him several times on special occasions!"

"Hmmm... In my opinion you're telling the truth. Who's the mole?"

"Craig Blair. Cheetah. Ring any bells?"

"Not your concern. Server?"

"Disconnected to internet in a old shack in Tundratown district. Only one neutral zone. I guess now you'll know where it is."

"That small hill?"

"Exactly. In order to enter you have to enter a code. 74669813042. Then, to connect the server to the internet you have to enter another code. 6723."o

"About Swiss bank account..."

"Everything is written in the server."

"Now you see? Cooperation is the key to success. You could've saved your claws and fingers."

"I hope you'll all die after Rodriguez..." the porcupine muttered

"What?"

 _God dammit._

From now on the porcupine could only expect the worst. Death threats weren't treated lightly, aspecially among the Phoenix. And when someone threated the best mammal they had.

"Did you say something about death and Rodriguez?"

"No!"

"You can't fucking lie. Who is going to do that and when?"

Jack wanted to lie, but when he saw the tiger picking up a branding iron and a acytelene torch he immediately changed his mind.

"Today. Eleven PM."

* * *

When the wolf opened his eyes he knew something was wrong. He just didn't know what.

He looked to his left. He saw a sleeping she-wolf. He smiled and kissed his wife in the forehead. He listened to the silence of the night. Nothing. Nothing worth attention. Then he grabbed his phone and turned it on. No new messages.

"What is it then? Some space cosmic ray? Or am I kidnapped by masons and observed in my natural environment?" he asked himself

But the truth was that his sixth tense, formed after years of training and fighting who woke him up. It never disappionted him. That's why he didn't just turn on another side and go to sleep.

Against his mind he stood up and went out if the room. He learned that if he listened to his instinct he wouldn't be disappointed. He went down the stairs, with light off. He didn't need them since he had his predatory night vision.

Then his instinct told him to hide in a niche on his left. He obeyed and did it without any sound.

A second later he thanked the heavens after a door in front of him opened. He listened to the footsteps.

 _Two mammals. Both smaller than me. Better wait. I'm sure as hell they're not alone..._

"So, what do we do again?" he heard a male voice

Looked like the mammal wanted to speak as quiet as he could. And like in most of these situations - it basically guaranteed that someone would hear him.

"Go upstairs, kill Rodriguez."

"What about his wife?"

"She can be useful..." the second voice chuckled a bit

"Fucking luckers downstairs already have his janitor..."

"Don't worry, we'll have fun too."

The wolf jumped out of a niche, without any weapon, only his claws to use. He saw two mammals, a badger and a racoon standing there less than half a meter away from him, with surprised face expressions. The wolf didn't give them time to call for help. He slashed their throats wide open with his claws, in less than a second. Blood gushed drom their wounds, soaking the carpet and messing wolf's fur om the chest, painting it from sonwy white to red. The mammals put their paws to their throats and fell on the floor, slowly dying.

The wolf passed them by, knowing they would die. He headed downstairs, to the other burglars. After a quick stop in the armory he went downstairs, this time with a bulletproof vest, a knife and two earpods.

After entering the hallway he heard another two mammals. Sticking to the shadows he moved closer to them and stabbed one right in the heart, tripping the second one. Then he hit him in the throat, smashing his trachea. The mammal started to desperatly try to inhale, but he couldn't.

The wolf pulled out the knife and put it against laying's mammal chest, where the heart was.

"Where?" he asked

The mammal pointed in the direction where the rest of his colleauges were, sensing wolf's intention. For an exchange the wolf pushed the knife into mammal's chest, ending his suffering.

After a while he made it to kitchen's door, where he heard some mammals earlier. He put his ear against the wall and listened.

After a bit he started to hear the voices.

"He's going to kill you." he heard a calm feminine voice, probably his janitor's

"Shut the fuck up. Roger and Mike are up the stairs in his room. He is probably dead by now." a gruff male voice replied

"What are you even doing here?"

"Try to imagine you being a fighter and then hearing about your commander's death. Wouldn't that affect your morale?"

 _This voice..._

The wolf remembered this voice. After so many years the ghost from his past came back, this time also wanting to destroy him. Wolf's plan changed rapidly. He had no doubt that he could easily defat everyone else in the room. But with that certain lynx in there he knew that he wouldn't.

"He is not in the army for a long time."

"He never was. Your boss is the commander of the Phoenix."

"What?! He is a crime boss?!"

"Another one of his secrets he didn't tell you about? I'll leave you alone with your thoughts and these two now. Try not to wake everyone in the neighbourhood up." he said and then by sound of a door closing the wolf assumed that he exited the room

"So, who is first?"

"Rock, paper, scissors?"

"Fine. Rock... Paper..."

"Knife." the wolf said, entering the room and throwing his knife at the furthest mammal

He then made two more of jumps that steps and hit the other mammal in the solar plexus. Right after that he kicked him in the face, making him faint and unable to fight.

The wolf looked at the mammal laying on the floor with a knife in his throat and a surprised look on his face. The wolf pulled it out with a disgusting sound and freed his janitor.

"Mr. Rodriguez! It's very good to see you!"

"I doubted you'd ever say that... Where is the rest?"

"Probably sleeping. I went here only to have a drink."

The wolf looked on the bottle of beer on the table "Any idea if there is more of them?" he asked, pointing at the bodies

"No. But that lynx mentioned something about about the game room. I didn't like him. Those eyes..."

"Feeling like he could look into your soul?"

"How..."

"Not now, get the rest of the service, my wife and get the hell outta here."

"What are you going to do?"

"Show them how to lose even more lives trying to fuck with me." he said angrily and exited the room, heading towards the armory, for the one last thing he needed

Right after that he run out of the room, reloading his AK-12. He ran towards the game room, with a plan slowly formimg in his mind. When he got there he kicked the door and stormed in, shooting to his left, bringing down three mammals. Then he hit a dog in front of him with his rifle's stock, grabbing him with his elbow to use him as a living shield. Then he turned right and shot four more mammals, all of the shots hitting their heads. Right after that he covered gis left side with the dog, avoiding getting hit with a cloud of leaded shots. He turned to the shooter, letting the dead dog go and shot the shotgunner with a precise shot in the head. Not stopping the wolf also shot a yak next to tge shotgunner. All of this took less that ten seconds.

The wolf flicked on the safety, put the rifle on his back and walked towards the yak, who winced in pain on the floor, pressing the wound on his belly with his hoofs.

Rodriguez kneeled next to the yak and said:

"Here's the deal. You tell me what I want. I may let you live."

The yak coughed "May? Fucking merciful..."

"Your choice. I don't need you - I'll get all the info I want with or without you. The thing is it would be way easier than asking everyone about the same thing."

"So, basically I'm asked to betray guys who never cared about me to make your life easier? Sounds good. Save me and I'll tell you whatever you want."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

When cops in precinct one had a little free time they had some choices what do do with it. The most common one was the shooting range. Officers competed with each other, had their lucky charms and although it wasn't allowed they often set up bets.

Right now it was almost empty though. Only three mammals - a wolf, a tiger and a lion were there. The lion was shooting the targets and the other mammals watched.

"Remind me, what was the record?" Wolfard asked

"Thirty seven targets in one minute." Fangmeyer replied and looked at his watch "It's four PM already. Are we allowed to go yet?"

"No, we still have an hour to go. Shouldn't we do something?"

"We are. We're watching the guy that shoots targets. Give your brain a break Wolfard. You have to look on the case from another perspective in order to see the details that you'd lose."

"You have to say the guy knows how to shoot 'em."

"You're right." the tiger said, watching the lion perfectly shooting the targets right in the middle

"Do you think we should make a challenge soon?" Wolfard asked

"It depends if he wants, but from what he told me I think he'd agree."

The lion finished shooting. He put down his headphones, made sure there were no bullets left in the chamber and exited the seating, untying the bun on the back of his head.

The wolf slowly approached him "Well, if you keep shooting like that I think we might have one good SWAT sniper. My name is Wolfard. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too. Leo." tge lion replied, shaking wolf's paw

"Did you take white death's lessons? You're one good shooter."

"Nah. Trained from the age of eleven. I also had one good teacher."

"Was he from special forces? From what I've seen I think so."

"He was from spetsnaz. One good soldier. Knew how to fight with no weapon, terrible weapons and was a master in fighting with good weapons."

"Many would dream to have a teacher like this... You were lucky."

"It juat happened. One day I was helping my father on family farm and then out of nowhere he appeared and taught me how to use a rifle like a real virtuoso."

"What's with those?" Fangmeyer asked, after he walked towards them, pointing at lion's plaits

"Those? My grandpa showed me photos of tribes my family is from and I liked it so much I started to collect information about it. Three months ago I bought origanal things that that tribe inweaved into theie plaits. And it's the whole story."

"Don't you think you look like a weirdo?" Fangmeyer asked

"Well, comparing to what I saw on the streets I look rather normal."

"That's true. Exactly after nine PM in Nocturnal District." Wolfard agreed

"Right. Don't you guys have a little shooting competition from time to time here?"

"They are forbidden, don't you know?" Fangmeyer said

The lion snorted "That was the worst lying attempt I've ever seen. And I've seen a lot, I mean A LOT."

"Well, we have tp set them up, but we have." Wolfard replied

"Nice. Is any going to happen soon?"

"It depends. If someone breaks the record current champion may throw down the gauntlet." Wolfard said

"And what is the record?"

"Thirty seven targets in one minute." Fangmeyer said

"Are you serious? I thought it'd be a challenge. Easy ride." the lion said, braced his hair into a bum, put his headphones on, reloaded his springfield M21 sniper rifle and started shooting

The wolf and the tiger stared wide-eyed as the lion shot all thirty targets in a bit more than half a minute, breaking the record they thought was unbeatable. After he finished he blew the smoke coming from the end of the barrel, put the headphones on the table and exited the seating once again.

"That ought to do it. Can you inform anyone?" the lion asked

"Will do." Wolfard replied

Meanwhile Famgmeyer's walkie-talkie beeped. He answered the call and heard chief Bogo's voice, calling him ans Wolfard to come to his office.

"Looks like we have to go. Goodbye Leo."

"See you later."

Both mammals walked upstairs, to chief's office. The tiger knocked at the door and after short 'come in' he and the wolf entered the office.

They sat on the chairs and listened to the bufallo:

"The only thing I want to know is why there were drugs in the truck with entry permit from Zootopia Transit and Market Authority and who wrote it." the bufallo said

"We don't know why, but it was signed by David Jones." Wolfard said

"What about the cargo?"

"Combined price is around 250,000 dollars. Cocaine, heroin and LSD." Fangmeyer informed

"Do you know something about that Jones guy chief?"

"Main oligarch ruling the city. Zebra, age 37. Entangled in drug cartels, tax exortions, distributing false documents... I can name and name. Type of guy you don't want to mess with. Many mammals trying to share information about him disappeared. Also many disappeared messing with him. The only ones that do that moderately 'safe' are from the Phoenix. Not because he respects them. Only beacuse taking them down would take too much time. And on top of all they may be able to win..."

"That all you wanted to know chief?" Fangmeyer asked

The bufallo yawned "Yeah. Continue the investigation, but don't mention about Jones."

"You haven't slept well, have you chief?" Wolfards asked

"Those night shifts are killing me... I need to take some days off work."

"You definitely should chief. You look like death." Fangmeyer added and got up "I think we'll be going now. Good luck chief." he said and exited the office with his partner

"Yup, I'd definitely use it."

The bufallo yawned again and returned to his work.

* * *

The rabbit looked at the clocked again and sighed eagerly. Judy hated waiting, not only because of her active way of life, but also because time always overspreaded for her.

She stood up and checked if everything was alright once again. Outfit? Check. Shower? Check. Purse? Check.

She sighed once again. 17:12 AM. Eighteen minutes to go.

 _Twelve past five_ _? Geez, it's been only two minutes since I last looked on the clock?_

The bunny laid on her bed and turned on her phone. She decided to browse facebook, since she had nothing else to. Her apartment was shining clean, none of her clothes in desperate need of ironing or washing up and sink in the kitchen clean and empty.

Judy logged in and almost immediately got spammed by notifications, mostly friend requests. Over the last period of time she became quite a cellebrity. Not like Gazelle of course, but she had quite a bit of fans.

The bunny scrolled down for a while, before she realized it was a complete waste of time. She could scroll and scroll and she wouldn't do anything productive.

She huffed, turned off the phone and laid on the bed. After a while she took her earbuds and started to listen to music. Shortly after that she heard one of her favourite songs - Try everything.

With music the rest of the time left passed quickly. The bunny didn't even notice the time passing untill the fox knocked at her door.

After hearing that she put her earbuds and her phone on the nightstand, stood up and moved towards the door. She opened it to see Nick, in his recognizable hawaii shirt.

"Excuse me miss, I'm looking for a bunny." he said smiling

"Could you please describe her?" the bunny replied, leaning against the door

"She is a fluffy, cheerful female rabbit. You do resemble me of her miss."

"I'll let you know if I see her."

"So, Judy you ready?" Nick asked, this time seriously

"As ready as I can be. Let's go!"

The fox held the door for the bunny and afterwards he exited the building with her in front of him. After they entered not so busy street the duo turned left, with the fox leading.

"So, what's the plan?" she asked him

"First we go to a Italian restaurant and then to a very nice place." the fox replied

"What is it?"

Nick grinned "Guess."

"Is it a cinema?"

"Sort of."

"Can you at least give me a clue?"

"It would ruin the surprise."

"Fine. Did you take your car?"

"Nah. I thought you'd prefer a walk."

"And you were correct."

After fifteen minutes of walking on almost empty pavement they finally got to the restaurant. Nick opened the door for Judy and guided her to the table he booked.

The inside of the resaurant was looking very nicely. The walls were painted red, the tables had red-white checkered tablecloths on them and the overall atmosphere was very nice.

They sat on the chairs and after less than two minutes of waiting a waiter came and gave them two menus.

"Do you know why the streets were so empty today?" Judy asked the fox, while opening her menu

"It's saturday. Half of the mammals is having fun in Nocturnal district, while the second half is prepairing for it."

"By sleeping?"

"Yeah. They often relax too. After one night of exploring Nocturnal district you often need three or five nights of rest."

The duo concentrated on their talk too much to see a coyote entering the restaurant. There was nothing suspicious about him, apart from barely visible chain on his neck. He looked on the fox and the bunny imperceptibly, put his paws into pockets on his hoodie and casually walked towards the waiter. He whispered something to the mammal, who replied something unhearable. Then coyote's paw moved from his pocket to waiter's and after that he pointed at the fox and the bunny. The waiter nodded and the coyote went out of the restaurant.

Meanwhile the duo selected their meals. Judy picked a salad, while Nick preferred lasagne. They waited some time, but when they tasted their dishes they knew it was worth it.

"There goes another hole in my belt..." Nick said, while wiping away a stain of tomato sauce on his cheek

"It was very good slick! As long as I remember I tasted a better salad only once."

"Shouldn't be a surprise. This place is run by a Italian refugee. He was a chef and left his country because of mafia or something." Nick explained

"How do you know that?" Judy asked with a bit of concern in her voice

"Don't you remember? I know everyone." Nick replied, grinning

"I bet you do." Judy replied, chuckling a bit "So, what do we do now?"

"Well, this place has great desserts. But. There's a place that is even better and has one huge benefit."

"That's where we're going now?"

"Yeah. I'm just going to pay the bill and off we go."

The fox did as he told and afterwards the duo exited the restaurant. They didn't notice their waiter making a phone call as they entered the street.

The street still wasn't very busy agin. Well, some cars passed from time time to time, but overall it was not much of a score for a city like Zootopia.

The fox decided not to guide the bunny through dull streets and instead he chose a longer path through places which were more colorful and interesting. That's how the walk that would normally take thirty minutes took more than an hour. But they didn't mind.

At some point the duo entered Rainforest district, embracing the moist air.

"Hmm, looks like they made a right combination this time." Nick said as he took a breath

"Yeah, now it's actually breathable." Judy agreed

"The thing that concers me is why they never do it good during our patrols."

"Life." the bunny replied, recalling all those moments they were almost suffocating on those streets

"Yup." Nick agreed

They countinued their conversation about not so important things and after quite some time they saw the place Nick was leading them to. It could easily be overlooked if you didn't know what to look for. The building was made out of dark wood, placed on a small hill on the edge of rainforest district and with one wall made entirely out of glass, pointing toward the city.

"I'm not sure what's the meaning of this building." Judy said

"You'll see." Nick replied

"You do like keeping the surprise, don't you?"

"No surprise means no fun. Simple as that."

They entered the building and immediately felt a change. Air conditioning system was an essential thing in most places in Zootopia, aspecially in rainforest district.

Nick approached the mammal sitting behind the receptionist's desk - a middle aged, rather plump male otter.

"Hello Harold. How are things?" Nick asked, approaching the otter

"Rather good. Are you just for business, or to have some fun?"

"That second thing."

"Table eighteen. Turn left after you enter, and you'll see it - it's in the corner, nearby the window. I have to say, it's one of the best spots."

"Thank you."

"Have fun."

The duo entered the main room of the building - a big hall, with many tables inside.

"Hmmm, looks like there have been some changes." Nick said

"What exactly?"

"Many things. The biggest changes are the floor, the walls, the lightning and the size.

They went to their table and both looked at the menu.

"Oh sweet cheese and crackers..." Judy said, looking at the dishes

"What is it, whiskers?" Nick asked

"Look at those! I really regret eating so much earlier, 'cause now I'd like to try these."

"That's the problem in Zootopia. You have so many options, so many choices you don't know what to do."

"No wonder why after you know how many nations and cultures are here mixed up."

"Looks like you're doing your homework."

"I'm a quick learner."

"That I know. Also you've got great memory."

"Is it that part when you overwhelm me with compliments?"

"Perhaps... Have you decided what would you like to eat?"

"Yeah. I'll take a piece of a strawberry cake."

"And that'd be everything?"

"Yup."

As soon as the waiter came the duo ordered what they wanted. Then all they had to do was to wait for their desserts. They were to spend that time talking, however they got interrupted.

In the middle of their talk a didelphinae wearing smart clothes walked in front of everybody. He clapped his paws to get everyone attention and after a while he started talking.

"Welcome all ladies and gentleanimals! Those who are here the first time, those who are here regularly and those who are here from time to time. Well, most chefs say that spices are the most important thing when making a dish. I agree with that. You see, my spice is view. But not something you can see everyday. The best view is something spectacular, something that one will remember until the rest of their life. A view like this."

After these words the mammal moved the curtain, showing a memorable landscape. High skyscrapers, peeking out of tree tops, encircled by orange light, clouds in various colors, from violet, blue and grey to yellow, orange and red, medium height orange sahara square apartment buildings, perfectly matching the color of the sunset and barely visible tundratown district's icebergs' tops.

Half of the mammals sitting there, including Judy stared at it wide-eyed. Another half hid their amazement, however nobody was left not impressed.

"That's the most beautiful sight I've ever seen." Judy said as soon as she got her cake

"You can see it many times and still be as green as you are the first time. It's hard to see, but it gets me every time." Nick replied, taking a bite of his blueberry pie

"Do you plan anything else this evening?"

"Other than admire you? Nah."

The time went fast. The fox paid the bill and then the duo exited the restaurant. They walked towards Judy's apartment slowly, taking all the time they wanted to spend talking or enjoying each other's company.

The fox walked the bunny right to her door. They shared their goodbye and then Judy opened the door. It was then she realized something was wrong.

"Huh? Weird, I thought I left the door closed..." she said as she unsuccessfully tried to rotate the key

Sh opened the door quietly and came in, trying not to be heard. It could have worked, if not for the water that covered the floor.

Her foot made a splash as she put it on the ground. A moment later a beaver walked out of one of the rooms.

"Miss Hopps, right?" he assumed "Well looks like you have a problem."

"What problem?"

"One of the drains broke. Water couldn't flow, pressure rose and whole sewer installation in this house got screwed. All floors flooded. You'll have to remain outta here for some time, until we fix the damn thing. Wouldn't be much of a problem if someone spotted it earlier." he explained

"Can I at least get some clothes and other personal things?"

"Sure, go get 'em." the beaver looked at her bare feet "Oh and I think those may be helpful." he said handing her a pair of rubber boots

Judy put them on and headed to her room. Luckily for her nothing important was left on the floor before she left. She picked up her driving license, ZPD badge, ZPD uniform and some other clothes. Then she packed it all to ger suitcase, moved to the bathroom, packed her toothbrush, toothpaste, towel and shampoo.

She knew what to do. She didn't know if it would work, but she was way too optimistic to worry about that then. All her plan could be described in four letters: Nick.

A quick call, explainig the situation and the fox agreed to help the bunny. Although he oferred her a drop-off the bunny preferred walking.

Nick agreed to that, knowing he had to clean up a bit. After the bunny hung up he went to clean the house. Nick did it very short, so when he heard a knock at the door he was ready to welcome his guest.

He put on his charming smile and opened the door.

"Hello again Slick."

"Hello again Carrots. Please come in."

The bunny entered the apartment and headed for the living room.

"Where can I put my stuff?" she asked

"The guest room is over here. Lemme take your suitcase." Nick said, pointing at the second door on the left

He opened the door and put the suitcase at the bed in the middle of the room. Apart from the bed there was a night stand next to it and a wardrobe in the corner. Like all the other rooms it wasn't very big, bit it was cozy.

"I hope you don't mind the size of the room." Nick said

"Nick, I lived with over three hundred siblings, I can handle this."

"Wait, three hundred? THREE HUMDRED?"

"Actually that number is overdue by now. Right now I have five hundred and eighty nine brothers and sisters."

"Damn. I heard that outside the city bunnies have more kits, but five hundred?"

"Actually my parents are one of the last bunnies that decided to have that big amount of kits. The others decide to just have three or five kits."

"Well, there goes the issue of size then. When you're done with unpacking help yourself with anything you'd like."

"Thanks Nick."

"You're welcome."

After the bunny finished she took a shower, dryed herself and moved over to Nick, who sat on the couch. A short discussion followed and afterwards the duo decided to watch a movie. Judy prepaired popcorn, Nick went to buy something to drink and some other snacks and when they were done they sat on the couch with their snacks and drinks. However there still was a major disagreement. What movie should they watch?

The discussion lasted a while. When Nick insisted on horror or sci-fi movie Judy wanted a crime or a comedy. It seemed that they would never agree, but at last they decided to watch a action movie.

Their choice was terminator. After Nick hit the 'play' button they knew they didn't fail it.

The film was interesting, however Nick saw it so many times he catched himself falling asleep from time to time. He tried his best to sleep, but in the end of the movie he ended up falling asleep.

Judy found out about it after Nick's first snore. Her first thought was to wake him up, but then she had another idea. She moved closer to the fox and slowly laid on him, making sure he wasn't awake. The feeling was overwhelming. Warmth of his body and softness of his fur made it truly a comfortable and relaxing experience. She followed right, until she got in front of him, in a place where she felt the most comfortable - on his knees, leaning against his chest.

She sighed, breathing in his strong scent, which made her relax even more. After a short while she realized that was the place where she wanted to be. In his arms, feeling warmth of his fur, not caring about the world.

In a short while she fell asleep, listening to fox's deep breaths.

* * *

The anthelope entered the apartment, hitting the celling with his horn.

"Fuck! Who lives here, an ant?" he hissed, holding it

"Stop grizzlin'. Ya want'd a place to hide, ya have one." his companion, a cheetah replied

They entered the apartment, saying a short 'hello' to three beavers that stood there, wiping the rest of the water on the floor. Both of them entered the bedroom, the cheetah showing a good place to place a sleeping bag to the anthelope.

"Ya sleep 'ere. The beavers will bring you food, water, playboys... Whatever ya want. Don't trash the place, don't make a lot of noise, don't..." he grabbed a cigarette from the anthelope "...smoke. Remember, don't show yourself. You're the backup. If anything goes wrong you're here to save the situation."

"Fine. I get it. Bye."

"Bye. And don't forget to stay hidden."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

One hit to the head got the job done - the second guard fell on the ground unconscious, clearing the path for the group.

It was quite a crowd. An arctic wolf, followed by two foxes, a husky and a panda. Every one of them armed, searching for anything that could ruin the plan and expose them.

The wolf stopped, pointed the foxes to go left, the husky and the panda to go right. Then he picked up his M1897 trench gun and quietly run towards the office deeper in the building. He darted towards it, did a forward roll and got below the window. After a few seconds of listening he heard gurard's breath. He sneaked left, got in the room and saw the guard, half awake, half asleep in front of the monitors. He quickly got behind him and hit him in the head with the stock of his shotgun.

The guard fell on the ground. The wolf walked over him and sat on the chair, opening the 'archives' folder. He found the document he needed and turned on his shortwave radio.

"Peter, Daniel look for storage room 23. Louie, Max yours is 11. Borh passwords are 23-65-99-04."

"Anyone on our tails Rodriguez?" Max asked

"No one yet." the wolf said after he looked on the cameras "Hurry up though."

The mammals broke into the magazines and did what they had to do, while the wolf watched if anyone who'd interrupt them would appear.

The problem began when all of them finished. With backpacks full of night howler bullets they hadn't had big ability to move. It was at this moment when ten mammals entered the building.

Fortunately for them the wolf spotted them before they headed depper. He activated his shortwave radio and called his copanions.

"We're interrupted. Ten mammals, west entrance. Three hyenas, a yak, two wolves and four cougars. All of them armed."

"What's the plan boss?" Daniel asked

"Peter, Danel give your backpacks to Max and Louie. You are to cover them if I fail. Do not just shoot try to make them avoid the carriers. I'll distract them. You call Fin and drive away."

"Got it. Break a leg!" Daniel said

"No thanks." the wolf replied and got out of the office

 _Let's think. Ten of them, didn't look like amateurs. Also one of them is a known gun to hire, so I have to be more careful. At this point, considering they are waiting for each other they ought to be right behind this corner..._

The wolf stopped and listened. Muffled steps. His brows went down. Or they were careful or they knew about them. He didn't think so, however this wasn't the reason not to be careful and quiet. It was always better to put a few of them out silently before facing them loud, all guns blazin'.

Listening to the steps he heard six of them split up, three to the left, three to the right. He followed the ones on the right, getting his knife out of the holster on his left calf, still holding his shotgun in the right paw.

Soon he saw the ones he followed. The yak and the wolves. He immediately stopped, afraid of them stopping him. He breathed almost without any sound, touching the wall.

It appeared they didn't spot him. He countinued following them, sticking to the shadows, barely making any noise, his knife ready to be thrown. In his mind he calculated where the rest of them would be. If he was corect it wasn't good. The second trio that split up should be almost to his company. It was the time to strike.

He threw the knife to yak's neck, breaking the spinal cord, eliminating him from the fight. Then he grabbed his shotgun and shot a cloud of leaded pellets, hitting the wolves.

The shot was lethal for both of them. They fell om the ground, with surprised face expressions.

It was a quick strike, however now the wolf knew it would be harder - the elment of surprise was gone. He attached his shotgun to his back and picked up his heavily modified AK-12.

The wolf moves away, still silently, but even more careful now, ready to shoot at any moment. A few seconds later he heard the rest of them coming.

Although he assumed they didn't know where he was he stopped behind cover and aimed for the direction the bodies were.

"Fuck! Who was that?"

"We were supposed to be alone Tom..."

"Shut the fuck up. How I was supposed to know it?"

"Good throw though. Helen? Dave? See anything yet?"

"Nope." a feminie voice in the distance replied

"Same." a male voice, extremely close to Rodriguez replied

The wolf started breathing even quieter. He was way too close to the enemy. He assumed where he was, looked where the rest of them were and decided to decrease the number of enemies even more.

A quick hit with a bayonet to the throat killed the cougar on his right. He threw the body out and then fired a burst to the voices. One lethal hit and a hyena fell.

Although he used a flash guard the mercenaries knew where to shoot. They didn't see the wolf, but some shots were extremely close. The wolf moved behind cover, peeked from another angle and fired another burst. After that he retreated and looked for another good position to shoot.

He did that few more times, however the enemies were too smart for that.

 _Fuck, if I had a flashbang... Or a smoke..._ he thought, knowing he could not change his position now

He knew the enemies approached closer. He also knew he was good, very good, however no one could defend himself against five good mercenaries.

He had only one option. He picked the vial which he had in his breast pocket, opened it and drank all blue liquid that was there.

A feeling comparable to a punch to the liver immediately hit him. The wolf got down, but after a while he rose up. His night vision exhaned, his hearing stronger, his reflexes faster, his smelling like in the times predators ruled Earth. He heard them approaching and peeked, shooting the second hyena perfectly in the head. Seeing blood spray behind his head, painting the wall red only made him more blood thirsty. He aimed more to the left, shooting the cougar that he normally wouldn't see.

Then he moved behind the cover, reloaded his AK and then peeked, looking for two cougars and one hyena that were left.

One cougar started to shoot him from the right and then tried to hide. Tried, because the wolf blew his head off right when he started shooting. The second hit him in the back, running into him, making him drop his weapon.

The cougar could kill the wolf, but he was too slow. The wolf got up, dodged cougar's attack and then counter-attacked.

Seeing this fight many would think the wolf acted irrational by attacking his enemy unarmed. But the wolf, listening to his primal instincts, with his heart pumping noradrenaline to every muscle of his body made decisions that many would consider nonethical.

He bit the cougar in his neck, shredding his throat to pieces as he moved his head back. The cougar fell on the floor, despertly trying to breathe in.

The wolf picked his AK from the floor and started to look for the last enemy that was left - a female hyena named Helen.

"Louie? Do you have any enemies in your position?" he asked via radio

"I'm chasing one right now. I..." the radio went quiet

The radio fell on the ground, while the husky dodged hyena's attack. The knife missed him by millimeters. The dog tried to fire his weapon, but she pushed his arms with her paw and kicked his leg, trying to make him fall. The dog was too good for it though. He was still standing and still had his gun. However the hyena didn't want him to get the upper paw and attacked him once again, successfully making him drop his weapon.

The odds were on her side now. The husky soon had to start heavy defense. Hyena's knife was a moving stain of light now, one moment attacking from the right, a second later from the left. The husky barely dodged the attacks. It was to be seen that it was a matter of time for the husky to get stabbed or cut.

And it happened. The dog lost balance and while he was falling the hyena pushed the knife into his eye. It wasn't deep, but still hurt much. The dog got on the floor, yelping and holding the wound. The hyena kneeled next to him, knife ready to bury in dog's chest.

And it would happen if not Rodriguez. The wolf kicked the knife from hyena's paw, dodged her fist and grabbed her. The hyena tried to free herself, but wolf's grip was just too strong.

"Shit. Louie, you alright?" the wolf asked

"Fuck! Right in the eye!" the husky replied

"Daniel! Is our car ready?"

"Yeah. Fin's right outside the west gate." Daniel replied, handing the radio to the dog

"Let me go!" the hyena demanded, still trying to get free

"Fine." the wolf replied

He let the hyena out and hit her right before that, stunning her.

"Now it's way easier." he said and threw her over his shoulder

All the mammals got out od there, the foxes and the panda having the backpacks. They got straight to the van, the wolf on the front, the rest on the back.

"Hello Fin. I hope you know how to get to the nearest entrance to our hideout." the wolf said

"God, your face... You'll have to wash the blood off."

"You don't fucking say. Do you know the way or not?"

"Better fasten your seatbelts." fennec fox replied, hitting the gas "How did it go, except mr. Eyeball?"

"Fuck off." the husky replied

"Good. No one dead, no evidence that was us. Quick entry, even faster exit." the wolf replied

"You disabled the cameras too?" Daniel asked

"I deleted the footage and turned them off. The only thing the owner will find when he gets back will be the bodies. And they aren't very talkative."

"What was in those magazines? Drugs? Evidence? Important documents?"

"Night howlers bullets." the panda replied "Look different from anything I saw earlier."

"Let the eggheads worry about that." Peter said

"Why M1897?" the fennec fox asked the wolf, looking at his shoutgun

"It's got a very nice feature. If you keep pressing the trigger while you load another bullet it shoots. Do it multiple time and the enemy will change into a goulash."

"Is he always like this?" Finnick asked the other mammals

"Do you mean black humor?" Max asked

"I wanted to ask if he's nuts, but that too."

"Most of the time." the husky replied

Then a phone call interrupted their conversation. All the mammals, excluding the hyena checked their pockets, making sure whose it was.

The wolf answered the call "Who's there?"

"Rodriguez, check in the you-know-whose office."

"Can this wait?"

"Nope. Get there ASAP."

Then the wolf hung up and threw the phone of the window.

"Day full of surprises, eh? Who was it?" one of the twins asked

"Do you know mr. shadow face's accountant?"

"The buck that does the assignments? Yup."

"Then you have your answer."

"Who's our boss by the way?" Finnick asked

"Why do you want to know? Selling information or closer acquaintenship?" the panda asked

"Neither. It's just better to know who you are working for."

"Trust me, you don't want to know that." Daniel replied

"Few mammals who know don't show that, in order not to be hunted. I probabaly could them on my fingers." Peter added

"That doesn't mean we don't know who knows. One mammal in this car knows who else knows, true identity of those who know and who is our boss." Max said

"Hmmm... I wonder who it might be..." Finnick replied, with discernible irony in his deep voice

"Wonder more." the wolf replied

"What's the rule for that anyway? Who can know?" the husky asked

"Louie, Louie, Louie... The decisions behind all of this are thought over a lot, I mean really A LOT. If you had better fighting skills and better assimilability of night howler then all clear, file is handed and you'll know. But... Why would you want to know? Your orders would still be the same and your life wouldn't chanfe expect you'd know how to adress someone you complain to. Oh wait! You still can't adress that mammal! You can't say 'he' or 'she'. Nothing." the wolf said

"Ok, we're here. You can continue this conversation later if you want, but now I got to go somewhere else." the fennec fox said, stopping the car

"Good job?" the wolf asked the sahortest fox, while the rest of the mammals got out of the car

"Pay is fucking awesome, got new, nice car for free... Any more questions?"

"That does it. Have fun." the wolf replied and waved as the fennec fox drove away

Now, when the wolf wasn't in ventilated space the heat hit him. Due to his thick and dense fur, adapted to very low temperatures in Siberian tundra he could barely stand districts like Savanna Central if he stayed there for a longer time.

Fortunately the entrance to the nearest Phoenix hideout was right in front of him. A small kiosk, probably closed down for years.

"How do we get in?" Max asked, carrying the hyena

The wolf looked around "No one. Daniel, watch the street."

He walked towards the door and knocked three times fast, then waited a bit and then knoced slowly twice. An eyehole, invisible earlier opened. Even though wolf's night vision was still enhanced he couldn't see the mammal on the other side.

He took his medallion and showed it to the mammal. The peephole closed and a moment later the mammals heard the key turning in the lock. They could hear it needed some grease. The door finally opened, showing a bufallo. He was holding a MP5 sub-machine gun, wearing a bullet-proof vest and probably chewing a gum.

"Come in." he said with a voice sounding more like a screech

All five mammals entered, with the sixth one carried in by a panda. The bufallo checked if anyone was watching and then closed the door, turning the key again.

The inside of the kiosk was not anything special. Except for a sleeping bag there was a small table, a chair, a bowl and a bag of ammo. The bufallo walked to the trapdoor and opened it.

"Here's your entrance. At the end of the stairs don't continue walking down. There will be a hardly visible handle on the left, which will open a door. After that you're there." he explained

"Good. Need anything? I might get you something." Rodriguez offered

"I'm good here. The only thing that often runs low is food."

"Okay, I'll take care of that. Bye."

"See you later." the bufallo said and when the wolf entered the stairway he closed the trapdoor

All mammals headed towards the hidden door entered it and then, after one more verification everyone went their separate ways. In wolf's case it was boss's office. The wolf passed by some familiar faces, greeted some mammals, but he didn't stop. Finally he got in front of big, aluminum door. He opened it and saw a brown, tired buck.

"Greetings, Harry. What's up?" he asked

"Rodriguez? And I thought you coming here was a not-funny joke... What brings you here?" he asked, pouring himself a cup of coffee

"Ask your boss." the wolf replied, going for the door

"No, I meant why did you come back?" the buck stopped him

"What, did you miss me?"

"I'm not in a mood for jokes." the buck replied, taking a sip

"You never are Harry. You are as serious as a doctor in Mount Olympus."

"What kind of a sick comparison is that?"

"My comparison. Back to the topic though, some angry mob attacked my house."

"Oh, brother..." the buck said, with disbelief in his voice

"My reaction was more or less the same. None of them could do anything to stop me. Well... Excpet one."

"Who was he? Deathshand? Painter? Morocca?" the buck counted names he remembered from various stories

"Neither of them. It was mr. lynx."

"Fuck. And I thought he was dead. Aspecially after Saudi Arabia..."

"True. So, what does the boss want?"

"I dunno. Probably he found some kind of oppurtunity."

"And he wants me to exploit it somehow. Okay, I'm going in. Wish me luck."

The wolf opened another door, this time made out of spruce wood and entered the room he knew very much. It was dark, so dark that even with his enhanced night vision he couldn't see the mammal that was sitting on the other side of a big, mahogany desk. The wolf sat on the chair and spoke.

"Still a vampire? Oh, dude I thought you already cured your allergy to the light."

"Shut up for a second and listen... Rodriguez."

"And you still use voice changer, don't you?"

"Ehhh, you didn't change much. I hope it's the same with your skills."

"Don't you worry about them. I practice a lot. Still have some free time besides spending money."

"I hope so. The thing I called you here for requires a lot of skills."

"What is it? Bank robbery? Stealing important files?"

"Bogo goes on a leave."

If the mammal said he was an alien and then removed his costume and showed his face the wolf would not be more eager. The opportunities that he saw in his mind were more than profitable. Many of them would also lower image of mammals who were on their target, which was more than good.

"I'll tell you three things we have to do."

"Shouldn't we focus on one thing?"

"Hmmm, how to explain... Those are three out of four pillars of our enemies. The more pillars fall, the easier to eliminate them."

"What are those things then?"

"First one: Hetfields' bank. They have all the money of the prey rights council, crime lords, except Rick, mr. Big and Felix, and the oligarchs. Money runs everything..."

"Yes, I understand that. What's the next one?"

"George's jewellery store. Not only he hides part of Rick's money but also some of his decuments. It's the best to rat on him, in the process many things oligarchs hide could see the light of the day. So they'd hide it and be distracted while we make our moves."

"The last one?"

"Get to know what the fuck are all of the crime lords doin' behind our back. Something's prepairing, something big and scary. If we don't pay attention we'll be in deep shit."

"Up to our knees?"

"More like our ears. I don't like giving orders when I don't know anything."

"Do you have any personal preferences?"

"I need to watch the action in the jewellery store. It's the hardest one and the most profitable one. Bank robbery can be easily planned by guys like Owen, Natan, Max... I'd like Gerard to take care of it."

"Gerard's busy. I sent him to find and eliminate one of the informers."

"And?"

"Went down the gurgler. Nothing."

"If I asked why won't he leave that I'd only show that I'm incompetent, so I won't. Let Owen... No, Natan take care of the bank. Marc will take care of the information."

"Good you have everything sorted out." the mammal in the shadow said and pulled out a cigarette "If you need any mammal contact Henry. He'll know what to do."

"I bet he would." the wolf said and headed for the exit

"How have you got that information? Was it hard to get?"

"Let's say that observing Tamara Rose's, Ernest Black's and Bogo's email has its perks." the wolf answered

"Good luck." he heard while exiting the room

"Thanks. I'll need it."

* * *

The sunlight slowly peekeed in fox apartement, shining on Nick's face. The fox gruntled and slowly came into consciousness. He felt a bit weird. Like he had a backpack on his knees. He opened his eyes and looked down.

Before that day Nick thought he has seen everything and nothing would make him surprised. But the sight of Judy Hopps, sleeping on his knees was too unexpected to keep his stoic state. She looked too cute, too innocent. But the real thing was he didn't know what to think. It was a mix of happiness, fear and surprise. He also didn't know what to do. Move and wake her up? Or wait for her to wake up and see what she does?

He liked their relationship how it was like now. He never imagined them being together, even in his wildest dreams. He was too afraid that something could go wrong and everything would be bad from then.

After Nick looked on the clock he's made his decision. Twenty one past eight. He hugged the rabbit and went to sleep.

* * *

Judy's mind slowly began to wake up, as her sensitive hearing picked up the noise from the streets down below. She opened her eyes, realizing something was wrong.

A quick look around made her know what was it. The fox on whose knees she slept was hugging her. She knew he didn't do that earlier and it kinda confused her.

On the other paw though she felt really good in his arms. Like she could not be harmed there. However she knew she had to get out, or else the situation could turn awkward.

Somehow the bunny got out of Nick's embrace and right after that she headed into the bathroom, in order to take a quick, but refreshing shower. When she finished, dried herself and dressed up she walked out of the bathroom, only to see the fox woke up.

"Did I fall asleep?" Nick asked, yawning heavily

"You did, in half of the movie." the bunny replied, walking into the kitchen "What do you have in the fridge?"

"Various food. You have to check it out yourself." the fox replied, going inside his room

 _She pretends nothing's happened... So I will._ the fox thought, taking some clothes from his wardrobe.

"Do you want pancakes for breakfast, Slick?" the bunny asked

"Would be nice." the fox replied, entering the bathroom

When Nick closed the door Judy's ears picked up that the fox didn't close the door. She immediately thought about taking a look at the naked fox. Just a little, quick peek and then back to the kitchen. She didn't realize what she was doing untill she saw she held the doorknob, ready to open the door.

The bunny backed out from the door, hearing the fox humming a cheerful tune, unaware of her actions.

 _No. I can't do that. This would sever our relationship and I probably wouldn't look at him the same._

 _But you'd like to see it, don't you?_

 _Yes. But it's not worth taking the risk._

She headed into the kitchen and started making the pancakes. The time fox spent washing up, drying and dressing up was enough for her to end the cooking and set the table. After Nick finished he went to the kitchen, where the dining table was.

"That smells really good carrots." he said, inhaling the scent "Did you find that blueberry sauce?"

"What blueberry sauce?" the rabbit asked

"The one which is as sweet as you." Nick replied and got the bottle from one of the drawers

The fox put the bottle full of thick, blue liquid on the table and sat on one of the chairs. After he took the first bite he realized how good food he was eating.

"Mmm, you do know how to cook good pancakes whiskers!" the fox said and took another bite "Delicious!"

"Nick, you shouldn't talk with your mouth full." Judy reminded the fox

"It's worth it, believe me." Nick replied, taking another bite

"I'm glad you like it."

The duo ate their dish, with Nick constantly adulating Judy. When they finished they both did the washing up and then sat on Nick's couch, wondering what to do next. Judy proposed spending time actively, while Nick wanted to go to a cinema or something more like it.

Finally they came to an agreement. They decided to walk to a cinema, eat dinner there and then return home, also on foot.

A fee moments later they were already walking on the busy pavement, heading towards a cinema, located somewhere near Savanna Central's harbours.

"Nick, do you have some favourite places where you often go?" the bunny asked

"Why do you ask?"

"You seem to know where you want to spend time, without much time spent on thinking."

"Well, it's because I prefer several cuisines. I know many restaurants, which serve foood that I like and then I plan the day to have some fun where I'd be close to one of them."

"That's clever."

"Don't you know we foxes are clever?" nick replied with a smug smile

"I keep forgetting nearby one of them."

The walk took more time than it would if the duo walked straight to their target. However Nick wanted to show Judy around and show her some nice places, like a good restaurant, a nice looking builing or a well-done mural. That was the reason why the walk that normally would take some time more than an hour an a half took two hours and forty minutes.

When they got to the cinema though they realized they did not choose a movie yet. However, dueto most of the movies there not being intetesting for them they didn't spend much time thinking and decided to watch new Jurassic Park.

"That movie was great!" Judy said, when they exited the building "Animations, the actors..."

"I liked it too." Nick agreed

"I can't wait for them to release another part!" Judy said "Where to now?"

"Do you like Mexican food, whiskers?" the fox asked

"I can stand it."

"Good. There's a restaurant nearby."

"Is it run by a refugee too?"

"No, but the cook practiced in Mexico, before he arrived here and set up his own business. Looks like he practiced hard, becausethe food is de-li-cious." the fox said

"Sounds good." the bunny agreed

It took them less than ten minutes to get to the restaurant.

"Three tacos ans a bowl of nachos?" Judy read, somewhat confused "Interesting name."

"It has its very own story, you know? Before the restaurant opened the owner only had a small booth. He was in debt too, barely scraping by. Then, a rich mammal happened to be wandering nearby. He also was really, REALLY hungry. He made an offer. If the guy made him a great dish he'd give him twenty thousand was more than enough for the owner to pay all his debt and still have some money left. So he took the challenge. It was then he realized he had almost no ingredients. However he decided not to give up without a fight. He made a taco and when the mammal ate it he wanted more. In total he ate three tacos and a bowl of nachos. The future owner paid all his debts, rented a place to sell Mexican food and made it to the point where he has his own restaurant."

"You really know everyone."

"How could you not believe me?" the fox asked, pretending to be in a lather

Judy laughed a bit "Let's get in, slick."

"After you, m'lady." Nick said, holding the door

"Such a gentlemammal."

They ordered their food and afterwards sat next to the table. They chatted with each other, waiting for their dishes to be done.

"Well, I'd be darned if I didn't recognize that red, smug hansome devil!" Judy heard behind her

"Gerard? what are you doing here?" the fox asked, fairly confused

"Just wandering around. Who's that?" the lion asked, looking at the bunny

"Oh, where are my manners... Judy, please meet Gerard Johnson. Gerard, please meet Judy Hopps."

"The officer that saved the city? I'm honored." the lion said, shaking Judy's small paw with his giant one "Would you mind if I sit officer?"

"No. And please call me Judy." the bunny replied, moving her stand

"Thank you. What brings you here, Wilde?" the lion asked

"Hunger." the fox replied

The lion cracked up "Guess I should've asked another way... Why are you in Savanna Central?"

"We just went for a walk, that's all." the fox replied

"Oh, I understand. You're together?"

"What? No! What's gone into your head?" the fox denied

"Really? That's a shame. You two look adorable together." the lion said

"Okay, so what do you do here mr. Jackson?" the rabbit asked

"Call me Gerard please." the lion replied "Well, I was looking for someone who owes me and I got hungry, so I came here. They really serve good food."

"Actually Gerard showed me this place for the first time." the fox told "He usually showed us places like that."

"Really? How did you two meet?" Judy asked

"We were neighbours when we were little. We played with each other and some other kits and it stayed like that." the lion explained

After those words the dishes finally arrived. Nick ordered Menudo, while Gerard took his taco and handed Judyher chiles en nogada

"So, what do saviours of Zootopia do now? Do you have another big case to solve and save the city? Or do you save the city from plague of speedsters and pickpockets now?"

"The second thing. Nothing is happening right now." Nick said

"That's great. I'll sleep better knowing the streets are safe." the lion said and looked at the clock "Well, I'd like to stay and talk, but I have to go. Enjoy your food." he said, took his taco and exited the restaurant

"You have nice friends Nick." the rabbit said, enjoying her food

"I know. I choose them wisely."

After they finished eating they came back to Nick's apartment. Nick opened the door, let the bunny in and then sat on the couch, relaxing his muscles after almost three hours of walking.

"I'm telling you carrots, there's nothing better than a comfortable couch and a TV." the fox said, grabbing the remote control "Want to watch something?"

"If there's anything good, yes." the bunny replied, sitting next to the fox

Nick turned the TV on, just on time for the debate.

"Well, looks like they finally started to get to the ending stages of choosing a new mayor." the fox said

"Who's there this time?" the bunny asked

"David Jones and George Hudson." Nick replied

 _The main thing that Zootopia needs are changes, mr. Hudson._ the zebra said _Changes that require planning, careful inspections, esuring that they would bring as many profit as possible._

 _Well, if the planning takes more than two months it's wasted time, me. Jones. The city needs radical changes, kicking out corrupted politicians and police officers. Look at ZPD precinct in Tundratown for example. Nobody is doing his job, nobody cares about anything, crime rate is higher than it's supposed to be and roads are not safe. Mr. Jones, you have had much time do plan the changes and to execute them. However, many required investments are ignored, investments that require their attention now, not in three days', weeks' or months' time. Now._ the wolf replied

 _This is true, however the majority of Zootopian citizens do not think those radical changes you have recited are necessary. This city is democratic, the majority wins and is listened to._

 _If you believe in democracy mr. Jones I will remind you that there is still a discussion about the result of a operation two plus two times two in the internet. Also the average voter does not know about the required changes in the city, the average voter does not know that climate walls are failing, that Nocturnal district is ruled by Zootopian crime lords, the average voter does not know that the money they pay in taxes does not go for fixing roads or improving Zootopian railway. The money goes to the pockets of rich, corrupted politicians, who are the majority you mentioned earlier._

The zebra tried to reply, however the crowd did not let him speak. The applause was too loud, even for the microphone.

"I don't know how you carrots, but I'd rather watch a movie than politics."

"Who do you prefer?"

"Well, Jones represents almost every mayor that wins and is most likely to be the main oligarch ruling the city. I prefer Hudson, but he won't win, even if he has the majority now."

"Why?"

"Democracy doesn't work here. If Hudson wins he'd be too dangerous for every corrupted politician in the city. They won't let him, he'd have to have some help."

"Sad. In my opinion he'd be a great mayor."

"I think that too. He's promising and he looks good for me. Okay, enough of this. What do you want to watch?"


	11. Chapter 11

_**Just a quick disclaimer before this chapter.**_

 _ **Why did I publish it now?**_

 _ **Well, I am going away for two weeks, so I decided to give you this, so you won't be as long time waiting. I try to post chapters weekly (no, I totally didn't make a break for like three months time**_ _ ** _ **-\\_(ツ**_ _ **)_/- ), so when I come back expect one chapter per week.  
**_**_

* * *

 **Chapter 11**

The restaurant was really exclusive. The dishes served on porcelain dinnerware, all the cutlety silver and all the glasses high-quality and masterfully incised. All the dishes from highest quality food, cooked by very good chefs, each of them from another region, specialized in its cuisine. After the dishes were cooked a panel of artists made it look perfect. And that was why the prices were so high.

The inside also was very nicely designed. The tablecloths made out of silk, the tables outof extremely expensive wood, the interior designed by world-famous interior designer, with a little stage, for a group of virtuosos, who played while the elites that could afford a meal there ate.

In the table in the corner there was a recognizable mammal, sitting with his fiancée. It was George Hudson, the mammal most likely to win this year's election. He was on a date right now, enjoying his favourite hyena's company.

And it would be a perfect date if not an arctic wolf with a stabilizer around his right knee. He wore formal clothing, with his impressive musculature easily seen even with it on top. It could be seen that he didn't like it, but he could stand that.

The wolf approached the unsuspecting duo and sat on the thrid chair near the table.

"Well, I could say that I hoped I didn't disturb, but that would be a lie, so I am going to cut to the point." he said, with voice loud enough for the mammals to hear but also too quiet for anyone else to eavesdrop

"Uhmmm... Do you need help with anything, sir?" the second wolf asked, fairly confused

"There are two mammals that need help sitting in that table and I'm not one of them. What if I told you that you were to die tonight, in this room?"

"I highly doubt it sir. This perticular restaurant ought to be free from any murderer." the hyena said

"Tell me mr. Hudson, do you know what Tamara Rose does?" the arctic wolf asked

"Yes, I do. I have bought her every book."

"Good, then it's way easier to explain. Tell me, mr. Hudson... Do you think the election would happen in democraric way? That David Jones will let you rule the city without any interference?"

"Well, according to Tamara Rose's research..."

"You don't know that zebra good enough to know, so I will answer for you. No. No he is not going to let you do what you like. You see, you are dangerous for him. You gain public support and he doesn't like it. You propose changes that will make him lose money. An awful lot of money. And he doesn't like it. One, small, bit."

"And you want to say that he sent someone here to kill me?" the second wolf asked ironically

"Look over my right shoulder. There is a panther. He has a gun, if you are perceptive enough you will see it."

"George... He really has a gun. What is going on?" she asked the arctic wolf

"I don't think he is here to kill you. Rather to scare you and take her as a hostage."

"Why?" a simple question came from the smaller wolf

"Psychology. Jones wants you to think he has got you, that he's the superior one, that he's the mammal in charge. A friend of mine would say that he wants to have your balls in an iron vice. Why? To have free... Well, in his case hoof. To do whatever you like. And to see your response. If you keep fighting he'll destroy you, like he did with many others. If you back down you'll just be another figurehead, so it would not be a difference for him." the arctic wolf explained

"He wants my response?" the wolf asked rhetorically, with fires in his blue eyes "Then he'll get it. I will tell that panther..."

"How? You are a politician, you don't have any fighting skill required to take him down. Plus, he is armed with a firearm, so good lick with that." arctic wolf's words cooled down another wolf's anger

"Why do you tell that to us, then?" the hyena asked

"I thought that question would never be asked... I am here to make you a proposal. By this time you should already know who am I with, but better to make sure, than not know." the wolf said and turned his left arm, showing his cuff for the smaller wolf

Shivers went down George's spine when we saw the links, with a picture of a large, orange bird, stretching its wings to the sides, framed by red-yellow flames. The Phoenix.

The wolf got raised in a rich family, but he knew about well-trained criminals wearing the signature of the bird with proud. They almost killed his father when he was nine and that was one of the reasons why he wanted to secure Nocturnal District and eliminate all the crime organizations from Zootopia.

Unfortunately it seemed that he had to ally with one of them in order to be able to fight with the most important enemies at the moment.

"So, how do..."

"I think I'd be better if we talked later, where nobody unwanted can hear us. My name is Dimitri Igorovich, if you wondered." the wolf said and exited the restaurant

Due to the 'interesting' talk the duo could not enjoy their meal anymore. They decided to return to wolf's apartment and then decide what to do next.

As expected when they walked through the door of the restaurant the panthet paid the bill and started to follow them.

"God, where is that wolf now?" George asked, after he imperceptibly checked if the feline kept following them

"Let's turn over here and if he keeps following us then we start to worry, okay?" the hyena proposed

They did exactly that and after some time without the feline they relaxed.

"Well... Now we can enjoy the sunset..." the wolf said, pointing at her right

It was truly a remarkable sight. The sun, illuminating the clouds above, painting them in various shades of orange, purple and pink looked beautiful. The mammals could only stare at it with their eyes wide open, absorbing the view.

"Because of little things like that we move on." the wolf said

"I can not disagree with that." the hyena agreed

When they got to wolf's apartment they finally knew they sould be safe. The estate the wolf lived in was guarded and his door was safe. But after George opened the door they saw the arctic wolf, casually leaning against the wall in the kitchen.

"How did you get here?" the smaller wolf asked "The door was closed..."

"Was that supposed to be a joke? A joke like the lock on your door?" the arctic wolf asked and walked closer to the duo "What was that you wanted to say?"

"Huh?"

"How do I... What? See something? Breathe? Walk so fast with only one leg fully operational?" the arctic wolf asked

"How do you want to ensure my safety?"

"You don't have to worry about that. Just say 'yes' and I'll take care of everything."

"Then I say yes."

"Okay. Then you must know something. From now on you are going to be observed 24/7. We will know when you eat, take a shower, sleep or make out. You will not go to any store. You will have a mammal next to your door who will get you everything. You will go only go to debates and stuff like that. If you want to go to a cinema, or a restaurant you are going to tell us when, where and what are you going to do. In case of emergencies use this." the wolf said and gave them an old nokia

"Is it really necessary?" the hyena asked

"You want to see?" the wolf asked and drew out his hidden pistol "Hide."

"Whoa, what is that supposed to mean?" the smaller wolf asked

"You are hiding. NOW." the second wolf replied, aiming at the door

The duo did that just in time. When the door to wolf's bedroom closed the panther kicked the door, expecting two shocked and suprised mammals. Butthis time he got surprised. The wolf fired only one shot, a very quiet and deadly one. The panther fell on the floor, with a small, red dot on his forehead.

"You see, this is why you need protection." the arctic wolf said, hiding the pistol "Don't worry about the body, I'll have someoneget it out of here."

The arctic wolf walked out of the apartment, leaving the duo alone.

"Oh my God, what have I been thinking... Getting into politics..." George said, grabbing his head

"George, it's gonna be alright, you are fine." the hyena said, trying to comfort him

"It's not about me, I'm worried about you! How can I be su-"

Wolf's talk got interrupted by hyena's kiss. She knew it was the only way to make him quiet.

"Honey... We will be protected. Trust me. I'm going to take a shower now, you can join me when you get a grip on yourself, ok?" she asked, hugging him

"Alright." the wolf agreed

* * *

The moon slowly started to enter the sky, formally starting the night. That mattered a lot to the bufallo who stood nearby his car parked next to the perfectly camouflaging bushes. Right now he observed an abandoned warehouse, a place not expected to find in Rainforest District.

"Hi Bogo."

Those two words made the chief of the ZPD's precinct one almost jump.

"Ernest, please don't do this again." the bufallo replied, almost certain he almost had a heart attack "I almost got scared to death."

The wolf sent his friend a toothy grin "If I didn't do it that wouldn't be my style."

"Yeah, that's right. Just remember some mammals don't like when you show-off your sneaking skills." the bufallo replied, trying to catch any movement next to the warehouse

"I don't show-off! It just happens."

"Yeah, yeah. Is this really the place where we will find more samples for Nigel?"

"Not only that. If we get lucky we may also get some nice criminals to interrogate. The sad thing though is that we can't play good and bad cop, since I'm not one." the wolf joked

"That's a shame. You could be both. How do we get in?" the bufallo asked

"I'd pick the door." the wolf replied

"Won't they shoot us?" Bogo pointed at two mammals nearby the door

"They aren't very smart. Alright, give me the tranq gun and let's go, we've wasted enough time already." the wolf said and started to walk towards the warehouse

The bufallo followed him, giving him the gun "Those are the ones for wolves, one will make you sleep for an hour. It also works on other species, but if you use that on a rabbit one will sleep for more time."

"Makes sense." the wolf replied

They didn't try to cover their approach, so when they got closer one of the mammals, a pig interrupted them.

"Hey, you know it's private property, right?" he said with voice suggesting for them to get out

"But we're just playing hide and seek." the wolf replied innocently, not stopping

"And we've just found you." the larger mammal said, shooting the pig, while the wolf shot the second mammal - a skunk

"So, you have sense of humour, Bogo. There's still hope!" the wolf said as he tied up the mammals

"Shut up. The sooner we end the better." the bufallo replied, opening the door without any sound

Both mammals carefully peeked inside, only to see countless boxes made out of various materials covered in dust. After making sure their surroundings were safe they slowly entered the building. Bogo desperatly tried not to sneeze, aspecially after he heard a voice coming from his right. It seemed like the mammals handled the drugs behind a movable, cardboard wall.

"So, what have you got for us today? Same stuff, or something extra?"

"I found stuff that can bounce you up to space! Phoenix's blue juice. Split in ten, only twenty thousand apiece."

"He's selling it mixed with something." Bogo heard the wolf muttering "It normally would be sold around fifty thousand. Can you arrest them off duty?"

"I'm the chief of the biggest police precinct in this city. I couldn't do that?" the bufallo replied "Do we wait though, or do we come in now?"

"They won't tell anything I won't get out of them. You take the left, I take the right."

"Sure. Let's go. Oh and take that." chief said and gave an artificial police officer's badge to the detective

The mammals stood up and saw all the mammals that took part in the market. They saw a dingo, a koala and an armadillo, who probably was the drug dealer. Looked like they finally made an agreement, since the koala shook paws with the armadillo.

"ZDP! Freeze and put your paws where I can see them!" the bufallo exclaimed, aiming at the mammals

Everyone did anything than that. The koala started to run, while the dingo tried to grab as many drugs as he could, with the armadillo trying to stop him.

Both the wolf and the bufallo reacted immediately. The wolf shot the runner, while the bufallo aimed for both armadillo and the dingo. He hit both shots, knocking them out.

"You didn't spend those years in academy for nothing, did you?" the wolf asked

"That's true." the bufallo agreed, walking closer to the unconsious bodies, obviously looking for something

He soon found what he was looking for. A large duffle bag, filled with various drugs. When Bogo took a look inside he knew the mammals who were buying had much more money than average mammal in Zootopia.

He spotted cocaine, LSD, herion and some other drugs he couldn't name. But also there were night howlers.

"I got the sample for Nigel." the bufallo said, picking up a small, aluminum vial "An awful few of pure one, but there's ten mixed. Also something that looks like that Doug used to shoot mammals with."

"Show me." the wolf demanded

He inspected the bullet from every angle amd then put it back in the duffle bag "Looks like Nigel is going to have some fun. This looks like the better version of the bullet Bellwether used. Imagine a tranq dart, but filled with night howler serum."

"Well, then we are back to square one. Wait until Nigel finds something, then make your decisions based on it." Bogo said

"Isn't it normal police work?" Ernest asked, tying up the dingo

"It's similiar." the bufallo replied, tying up the armadillo "But not the same."

"You have to fill up the paperwork too, huh?" the wolf asked, tying up the last mammal

"Why do you think I need reading glasses? After hours of filling in reports, trying to read those small letters your eyesight won't be all right." the bufallo said, picking up unconsious koala

"Makes sense." Ernest agreet, grabbing unconsious dingo

They moved all the mammals to Bogo's car, put the bag in the trunk and drove away.

"Okay. Here's what we are going to do." Bogo said "I'll leave them at your house and take the bag to Nigel. Then I'll drive home and spend the rest of the weekend home."

"You better should. Not only you are still going on only because of caffeine, also your wife misses you." the wolf replied "What do you want me to get out of them?"

"Everything about night howlers and who gave it to them."

"Oh, trust me, I'll do it. They will sing..."

* * *

Savanna central's climate wall sure did see better times. When one came closer they could see multiple breaks on the walls, murals and other signs of neglect.

The inside was nothing better than the outside. Old-dated equipment, often not working so well, lacks of required substances and personel which did just fine was the reason why the climate walls didn't work propertly from time to time.

However this time it wasn't an error.

"Hello?" Zootopian Weather Control boss picked up the phone

After a few words his brows went down "No, I don't think I..."

Another few words on the phone and he immediately changed "Well, that could work, but..."

Next words made him sure "Fine. I'll do it. The temperature in Savanna Central will decrease to four Celsius."

ooooooooooo

This night was way worse than any other. It was too cold for any duvet Nick had for summer and too late for her mind to funcion well enough to get a warmer one.

Her mind looked for a easier way to warm up though. It quickly found it. She remembered how warm and comfortable Nick was the night before

With her mind half-funcioning she got out of the bed and walked out of her room. She passed by his couch and entered his bedroom.

It was then when she realized how strong was his scent in the room. Ot literally hit her, filling her nostrils with her breathing.

She went further inside the room, lifted the quilt and crawled towards the fox. She relaxed when she reached him. He felt really comfy. The next thing the sleeping fox did surprised the bunny.

Nick turned on his side and hugged her.

She didn't expext that. Her mind raced, trying to figure out what to do. She like it though. She felt safe and nice there. The bunny buried her face into his fur, breathed in his strong and musky scent and went to sleep.

* * *

The arctic wolf stared at the jewlerry store, like it could stare at him too. He eyed it down, trying to see through the walls, to make sure his plan was perfect.

 _Forty seven._ He ended counting as the police car drove before the jewlerry store. The cops looked bored, like most of them while patrolling at night.

"I'm going to open you like a walnut." the wolf stated and went back a bit, in order to see the mammals that accompanied him.

He looked at them once again. All wearing black, rubber-cloth outfitting and a small backapck on their backs. They were to be trusted. He knew them all and saw what most of them were capable of doing. From left to right there stood:

Owen Borsbody, a golden retriever, age twenty five, known for keeping himself cool in dangerous situations.

Elizabeth Youth, a cat, age twenty. Known for her amazing acrobat skills. After Rodriguez dug a bit deeper it seemed that she got fired because of prejudice.

Natalie Freeman, a red fox, age twenty seven. Known for her knowledge about any security system developed after 1999.

And finally there was Ryan, age thirty one, an otter, who was owner's oficially unknown twin brother.

"Okay, here's the plan. Me, Youth and Owen go and throw a rope on the roof and climb in. The rest enters afterwards. Then we open one od the glass panes and drop Elizabeth to the store on the rope. Once she is there she will disable security system. Nat will guide you. Then Ryan uses his similarities to open the safes, we fill our bags and exit. All be done asap, without the cops noticing." the wolf explained the plan

"Easy. I've done harder things." the dog said, correcting his utility belt

"Like what?" the otter asked

"Like the shooting a few days ago." the dog replied

"Okay, stop your shit-chat and let's get to work." the wolf silenced them "Nat, use the common channel to count to forty five from when the crusier hides in the Oak street."

"Got this." a short reply came

After the car hid three mammals ran on the street quietly, with the wolf throwing the line and the dog and the cat to assist him. He threw the rope on the roof and grinned when the hook grappled.

"Your time to show off, Youth." Rodriguez said as he pulled the rope towars himself as hard as he could

"Twenty seconds."

The cat climbed the rope very fast, untied the rope from the hook, tied it to a pipe on the roof and pulled the rope twice, signaling it was safe for him to climb. The wolf got on top and gave the signal to the dog.

"Thirty eight seconds."

All the mammals knew that the dog had not got time to climb. Seven seconds just was not enough. But the dog did not want to give up that easily. He grabbed the rope, threw in on the roof and grinded against the wall, covered by a trash can.

"Forty five."

The crusier drove on the street, illuminating it with its lights. The car slowly drove by the store, observed by four almost invisible mammals. Two cops in the car didn't observe the street, more focused on talking than their job. The dog remained hidden, waited for the car to turn and then stood up. He waited for the mammals on the roof to throw him the line, climbed up to them and then, after the mammals on the other side on the street joined them he retracted the rope and hid it in his backpack.

"Put your masks on, we don't want to leave a single, tiny hair." the wolf said "Nat, Owen it's your turn now, open the roof window."

"Any security systems attached to it?" the vixen asked

"No, but there's a lot of them inside, so save your tricks for them." Rodriguez replied

"I still don't know why you have brougt me here." the otter confessed

"You'll see." the arctic wolf replied

The dog and the fox opened the roof light, not leaving any sign of their activity, neither on the lock or window. They put the pane next to the hole. After that the female fox put her backpack on the roof and picked up a can full of powder from it. She opened it and spilled all of it inside the store, blowing it, so it could reach the furthest parts of the building. Soon after that laser beams showed up, scattered densly around the store. The cat bit her lip. It was her job to get inside and with Nat's instructions disable the security system. Looking at it now, she thought it was impossible to get there. However after a short while she spot a way that she could go.

"I'll do it." she said "It's possible."

Owen looked at her with a bit of disbelief "This? Possible?"

She didn't answer "How do I get down?"

"I will lower you on the rope, you tell me if I keep going or stop." the wolf said, getting it out of his backpack

After he fgot the rope out he also picked up am unusual tool. It was two rods, with a movable connection about in the middle. At the end of the rods the mammals could see small wheels.

"What is it?" the vixen asked curiously

"I'll use it to adjust her position, so she can avoid the lasers." the wolf replied and put the tool above the roof window

"Won't you be busy getting her down?" the dog asked

"I will. It'll be your job to move left and right. Ryan, you take up and down. Do everything Youth says." the wolf said, giving the rope to the cat

"Wait, take that camera." the vixen said, handing the device tp the cat "And this box. I'll use it to guide you when you will disarm the security system."

"What's in the box?" the cat asked, attaching the box to a strip on her chest

"Screwdrivers, picklocks, pilers, etc. Everything you'd need when disabling the security system."

She attached the rope to her utility belt, attached the camera to the strip on her chest and put her backpack next to the tool. She moved closer to the edge and slowly descent in the store. Only there one could see how densely the laser beams were placed. The cat signaled the wolf to stop and looked for the best way to slip in. After a while she told the dog to move her a bit to the left and then she countinued to go down, stopping right above the floor. It was the hardest part. A few milimeters above the floor there was a web of laser beams, with single beams too close to each other for the cat to step between them.

"Try to turn around, show me the inside of the store." she heard Nat's voice in her ear pod

The cat grabbed the camera, unattached it and turned around in her paw, showing the store. Then she reattached it and waited for instructions.

"There's a white panel to your left. You have to get there somehow."

It wasn't a great distance, but the cat had to move not touching the floor and avoid the laser beams. She told the wolf to move her up and then started to lean out forward and backward - like she was on a swing. When she got to the point where she knew she could jump on one of the glass showcases spread out around the store she cut the rope and got on it, barely avoiding one of the lasers. But she achieved her goal, landing on the reiforced glass pane.

There was one more jump to go, though. This one seemed a lot easier, since she could land on a little platform, which wasn't covered by any laser. However there was a catch. If she stood there she would not be very mobile.

Unfortunately it was the only option. There wasn't any other place from which she could reach the panel. She slowly rose up, to the point when she was half-straight. She leaned back a bit and then jumped, landing perfectly on the platform.

"Nat. I'm here. What now?" the cat asked

"Open the panel and ahow the inside to me."

The cat opened the box, picked up a picklock and opened the panel, uncovering a total mix of wires and one keypad.

"Oh, come on..." the cat said, not believing in what she was seeing

"This will be difficult, but I think I'll manage." the cat said "Remove the sleeving from the blue wi-"

"Type 388846195 on the keypad, then press the red, black and green button." the otter interrupted the vixen

"How do you know that?" the cat asked, unsure who to listen to

"I talked with my brother's associate." the otter replied

"And he know that it's us now? Ryan, I told you that-"

"No, he doesn't. I pretended to be my brother and he didn't notice." the otter interrupted the wolf

"Couldn't you tell us earlier?" the golden retriever asked

"It'd ruin the effect." the otter replied

"Okay, shut up and repeat the code." tge cat told

"388846195, then press the red, black and green button." the otter told as the cat typed it

After she pressed the green button all the lasers turned off, making the drop possible for the mammals on the roof. The cat stepped off the platform, as the rest of the mammals got inside the store, driving down the rope the car left earlier.

"Ryan, you go with me. Nat, you mess a bit in the security system, make it look like someone disabled it, except it wouldn't work. Everyone else, open the showcases and get everything from there." the wold said

"What do you mean?" the vixen asked

"I want to make the owner look responsible. He opened the door, disabled the security system and then messed with it, trying to make it look like someone disabled it when it was activated. Except the robber would fail, because the owner knows shit about disabling security systems." Rodriguez explained

"Wouldn't you have to break the door too, then?"

"Later. Can you do that?"

"I couldn't do that?"

The female fox moved to the panel and started to mess with the wires, while the fox and the otter moved to the back of the store, where the workroom and the safe was. The rest of the mammals opened the showcases with picklocks and got every bit of jewelerry out.

Two mammals entered the workroom, passed by some unfinished necklaces and rings and stopped in front of the big, steel door. The wolf grinned as he was rubbing his paws together.

"Told you I'd open you like a walnut." he said and turned to the otter "Ain't she big?"

"She?"

"To get to the heart you have to show her your face and tell her the magic word." the wolf said, ignoring the question "So, are you ready?"

"Yeah. I even had my hair cut like my brother." the otter replied and came closer to the door

He removed his mask and after two exhales he nodded. The wolf pressed the button reponsible for the scan.

"Carnivorous." the otter said, with his voice loud and clear

After a short while a blue diode turned on, signalizing that the door started to open. A few seconds passed by as the safe revealed its inside. Shelves of gold, diamonds, amethysts and other valuable materials, encouraging to come in and take whatever one would like.

The otter stopped the wolf from entering the room and disabled one more safety measure.

"There were smarter than me."

Now the wolf entered the safe, made big enough for two mammals his height to fit in. He went to a wall on the back and pressed a button that was barely visible. After a while the wall went down, uncovering one more room, which seemed more like a vault in a bank. Scattered across the room there were many carts with piles of notes on them.

The otter watched as the wolf came to one of them, opening his backpack and took a big, plastic bag from the inside. He opened it and shoved the money inside, as much as he could. Then, when the bag was full he tied the end and took another one, doing the same.

"It would be a lot faster, if you helped me." the wold said

Ryan blinked, came closer, took one empty bag and did the same as the wolf. A bit more time later they finished with the money, ending with twelve bags filled with 100$ notes. The wolf then opened a locker that stood there, unnoticed by the otter and picked a folder full of documents out of there.

He moved all the bags out with the otter and then closed the room, pressing the button.

"One more thing to do." he said, opening his backpack

He started to get all the valuable materials into it, shoving them from the shelves. The otter soon joined him, emptying the safe in the matter of seconds. It was not as much as it was in the vault, but the price was high, too. The mammals exited the safe, the wolf ordering the otter to meet the others, while he made the door look destroyed, like someone opened it with force. When he ended he took some hair he kept in his pocket and dropped them on the floor. They were owner's hair.

The wolf joined the other mammals, gladly noticing that the dog did what he told him on the side. The glass door were broken and the lock picked, the showcases broken and the security system messed with.

"Okay. Owen, you will hide the tool on the roof. The rest, open the door and the curtain and put all the bags of money and jewlerry into the van that will arrive in a second. Do not move the glass." the wolf said

"Won't there be cops?" the fox asked

"You're catious. That's good. They are distracted right now. I hired two mammals to fight in front of their vehicle, they should be checking their indentity papers right now." the wolf explained

The mammals moved all the bags closer to the door, in order to pack them fast, while the dog put the window back in place. Soon after he came down a van, painted orange drove backside to the entrance. The mammals put all the bags inside the car and after they did it the wolf closed the curtain, got inside the van and they drove away, unseen by anyone.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Monday mornings were something different in Zootopia. Anyone who was on the street could feel bad mood of mammals who had to wake up, saying goodbye to the weekend. Most of them weren't happy about it, which caused them to get annoyed easily. That was why mondays were days when ZPD knew someting would usually happen. A struggle, an accident... Too many to count.

But not for everyone. Some mammals enjoyed their work and were happy to do it. Mammals like Judy Hopps.

The rabbit woke up in the greatest mood. Embraced by a fox, she slept whole night feeling warm, safe and happy up to the point when she had to get out of his strong arms.

Fox's embrace had one disadvantage though. She woke up sweaty, with her pyjamas sticking to her gray fur. She went to the guest room, where she left her suitcase, took some of her clothes and went to the bathroom in order to wash herself. After she got undressed and let cold water stream down the shower she stepped inside, feeling cold water really waking her up. She took her shampoo and generously poured it on her head, foaming and spreading it over her small, but somewhat muscular figure.

After she finished and dried up she went to the kitchen, in order to eat some of the pancakes they did not eat yesterday. When she was eating she heard the fox waking up, probably grunting something about still being tired.

In a moment he came onto the kitchen, yawning loudly. He stared at the counter for a while, apparently thinking about something. Then he facepalmed, turned around and disappeared for a short while. In a fee seconds time the rabbit heard the the fox humming under the shower, clearly enjoying the moment. When he dried himself, dressed up and exited the bathroom he headed for the kitchen, in order to eat something too.

"It's nice that you can become happy so fast." the rabbit said, placing her plate in the sink

"If you want to be happy - enjoy little things." the fox replied, grinning

"Can't argue with that." the bunny replied "Do you have any coffee?"

"There's a café nearby. I bet their coffee is the best in the city." Nick replied

"Seems all right. I'll have my coffee there then."

"Looks like I infected you with my coffee addiction, didn't I?" the fox asked, pretending to be worried

Judy cracked up a bit "You may have."

The fox took the rest of the pancakes and ate with the bunny, who accompanied him. She finished before him, however she liked his company, so she decided to stay. They joked and talked as long as the fox ate. After that they put on their ZPD uniforms and marched out of the building Nick lived in, heading for the café.

Soon they spot it. A small building, with not much indicating it was special. A simple sign, with 'café' written on it. The duo entered it, only to see a camel cleaning the counter.

"Good morning Ahmed." Nick greeted him

"Good morning Nick. Same as always?" the camel replied, putting the cloth below the counter and starting to make the coffee

"Two this time. One for me, another one for a friend." the fox replied

"Size, what she wants?"

"I'm a bunny. What can you offer?" Judy replied

"Basically any coffee you'd want. We Arabs invented it, so don't think I wouldn't make something. I recommend traditional one, aspecially on the morning. It gives you boost for the rest of the day." the camel suggested

"Sounds good. I'll take one." the bunny said, leaning on the counter

The camel prepaired the black liquid, while the officers spent that time talking. When the camel finished he gave them two paper cups, took the cloth and continued to clean up the counter. The fox put ten dollar note on it and exited the café with the bunny, sipping his coffee from time to time.

They got to the station, with their cups already emptied and thrown away. The fox held the door for the bunny and they entered the building. All was the same, except for the mammal that argued with the chubby cheetah behind the counter.

An orange cat, fairly taller than most of her species, wearing long, blue jeans and a white t-shirt.

"Listen, I don't care about that. I need to talk with the chief, now!"

"Well, I can't let you do that miss Rose. Chief Bogo is unavilable at the moment, perhaps you should come later..." the cheetah replied

"I can't wait! I've been threatend, I've been insulted and followed. I need immidiate protection, I need to talk with him. Right. Now." she said, making sure he understood that she won't move until she achieves her goal

"I think you didn't understand me, miss Rose. Chief Bogo isn't here right now. He went on a leave yesterday." the male feline explained

"Well, can I talk to the one that replaces him then?" the cat asked

"He's not here yet, but he should be in any min... Nevermind, there he is." the cheetah said, pointing at the door

The cat and the duo turned to the door, to see a black wolf entering the station. His appearence was similiar to the wolf that joined a few days ago. However the wolf that just entered was older. Gray stripes in his fur could easily be seen, as well as two scars, one deep from the top of left side of his head to the front of his jaw, the second one, not as deep as the first one was a small cut on the right side of his maw. Although his age he still had visible musculature and jumpy walk.

"Tamara Rose." he said as he came closer to the cat "The most nosy journalist in whole USA."

"William Black." the cat replied "The first predator chief of precinct one. And the first one that started doing something."

"Why are you here?" he asked as he shook her paw "Is there a problem you need to solve?" he asked

"Well, I've got a quiet hater who threatens me." she replied

"You need protection? Have you tried to contact private security yet?" the wolf asked, putting his paws in his pockets

"Everybody turned their back on me."

"I'll take care of that. Until..." he looked at the clock "...ten o'clock I'll have someone to guard you."

"That's it, then?" the feline asked

"Yeah. Go home, relax, do whatever you like." the wolf replied and went to chief's office

"Who is he?" the bunny asked after the wolf left their field of view

"That was William Black, the mammal that made ZPD... I could say great again. Chances are he was the reason why ZPD became something you wanted to join." the fox explained

"He looks familiar to that wolf who joined a few days ago."

"I bet he's his son." the fox said and then looked at the clock "We should probably head to the bullpen, it's getting late."

The duo headed for the room full of oversized desks and chair. Most of the officers already were there, some of them talking with each other, some of them arm wrestling and some of them minding their own business.

When the mammals walked through the room they got interrupted by officer Grizolli.

"Hopps, Wilde!" he stopped them, rising from his chair

"Hi Grizolli. What's up, are you missing your freezer?" the fox asked

The polar bear snorted "Your tounge is going to get you in trouble some day, you know it Wilde?"

"I'm still waiting." the fox replied, grinning

"Is there something you want to tell us?" the bunny asked

"Come to the shooting range nine PM, today. There's going to be a small competiton, Wolfard is setting the bets." he told them

"Nice. There aren't many things more exciting than two mammals shooting a paper sheet. I'll probably be there. What about you, Carrots?" Nick asked

"Sure, why not. It can be quite interesting after all." the bunny said

"Okay. That's cool." the bear said and returned to his seat

The duo sat on their chair and waited for the chief to come. Soon after that the door opened, without any warning, with the black wolf entering the room.

"Hello officers." he said, holding the folder in his right paw "As the more observant of you have already seen I'm not your favourite grumpy bufallo."

A laughter crossed the bullpen as the wolf said that.

"Well, we're going to miss the ray of sunshine chief Bogo was." Nick said, followed by another wave of laughter

"Keep talking like that and I think I'd find a perfect officer for parking duty." the wolf replied, with even another wave "Okay, so if you're wondering why Bogo went on a leave, he finally found out that sleeping for three hours a day isn't long enough. My name is William Jacob Black and I will replace Bogo for a couple of days. So, assigments." he said and opened the folder "Officers Grizolli, Delgato and Snarlov. Patrol, Canals district. Officers Rhinowitz and Pennington. Drug dealer, Savanna central. Whoever has their earlier assignments - nothing changes. Dismissed."

The wolf gave the documents to the officers and went out of the bullpen. The officers did the same, with everybody busy with their jobs.

However, the fox and the bunny who wanted to continue solving their case got interrupted, when they headed for their office.

The fox took his shortwave radio and replied for the call "Wilde here, what is it?"

"You and Hopps, get to the George's jewlerry store." they heard the wolf's voice

"Didn't you say that we ought to solve our case, chief?" rhe bunny asked

"Listen, I said that but now I found out about a robbery in which I could use some help." the wolf replied via radio

"We'll be there then, right Carrots?" the fox asked, turning to the bunny

"Sure thing, Slick!" the bunny replied

"Meet you there." the wolf said

The duo got in their car and drove to the store, getting there in less than a quarter The bunny parked their cruiser, got out of the car with the fox and took a look around.

The area around the store was secured by yellow 'do not cross' tape. Next to it there were three cars, one with ZNN logo on it, with the rest being police cruisers. The police officers, one hyena, two anthelopes and a wolf searched the arena, looking for clues, while a deer, the last of the police officers talked with the reporter.

It was then, when one more cruiser arrived. The duo turned around, to see a black wolf, a polar bear and a cat, both holding cameras exiting it. The wolf approached them, pointing them to go inside, following him.

"You done thaking photos?" he asked the hyena

"Not in the workplace. Don't go there yet." she replied, trying to find anything that could be useful in the investigation.

The wolf nodded and entered the jewlerry store, making himself not visible for the bunny observing him from a window in one of the buildings. She lowered her binoculars and turned around, seeing old, abandoned apartment, filled with crates, containers, boxes, etc. It was very good cover, making sure that no one would interrupt a mammal using it for illegal purposes. The bunny frowned as the vixen she was here with disappeared, probably wandering off to another room.

"Margaret, come on!" she called her "You have a job to do too!"

The red-furred vixen came into the doorway, munching a sandwich. She approached the bunny, swallowed and spoke:

"Can I at least make a sandwich? I was starving!"

"Have you not have breakfast? What is it, six PM? It's still morning, where were you, quimming with one of your boos?" the bunny replied, quite annoyed

"Having it heard from a bunny... Savage." the female fox replied, with her voice literally dripping with sarcasm

"Listen, just do your work, I'll do mine and we'll be good. No harm done. You don't have to like me, I don't have to like you too, just treat it as a necassary thing."

"Fine. Who do I call for you then? Your foxy boyfriend?"

"Alright, what's the matter with you? Have I done something that you didn't like? Because I don't remind anything. Margaret, do you have a problem with me? Every time you say anything to me you are mean, or use sarcasm or anger me. What's the issue?"

"Number of comic book. Is that enough, or do you have any other nonsense questions?"

"Why are you such a bitch?!" the bunny yelled

"Why are you so blind?"

"What?"

"That fox, you are with, Claus. How could you not see he was into you for a very long time? You made him impossible to get on a date, get his attention. That's the issue I have with you. I wanted to see how he is in bed."

"You are a fucking egoistic slut! You did it so many times and you still want more. Do you enjoy making mammals suffer?!"

"What do you know about their feelings? I deliver them pleasure and I get it too. Simple trade."

"That's how you see it? Don't you see the aftermath, leaving them with broken hearts? Haven't you seen Wilde's reaction? You have no idea what you are doing to them." the bunny replied, turned away and continued watching the store "Call Henry and tell him wolf's taken the bait."

"Whatever."

Amanda ignored her and watched the store, ready to report. After at least a minute she saw the wolf in store's window, examining the sabotaged allarm.

"Won't work." he said, looking at it "Somebody disabled it, then made it look like that. If it was done first the allarm would set off."

"Can't say you're wrong chief. Italian way doesn't work with allarms." Nick agreed

"Italian way?" the wolf asked

"It looks like spahgetti." the fox explained, pointing at the box

The wolf grinned and then cracked up, moving his head down "Italian way... Why am I laughing?"

The fox would answer if he didn't spot something that brought his attention. A small detail, almost invisible, something that many would either miss or walk past by. A small scratch on the glass pane, most likely done by a claw. It raised a question, a question that many would miss. How did it get there? In a middle, where no mammals would put their paws on.

"What are you staring at, Slick?" the bunny asked

"Do you see this claw mark?" the fox replied pointing at the showcase

"How could it get here?" the bunny wondered after she saw it "Like somebody jumped..."

"But why..."

The wolf listened to their conversation, called the hyena and told him to take photos of that scratch.

"I think I know how did it get here." the wolf said "Look at this." he pointed at turned off laser sources "The lasers cover the floor, you get here with alarm working and you can't touch the floor, the only way is through air. Jumping." he explained

"That makes sense." the rabbit agreed

"It looks like a poor attempt to rat someone." the fox said

"The next room should give us more clues who we were to charge for this." the bunny assumed, heading for the room

The wolf and the fox followed her, passing by some empty showcases. They could easily see that next room was the workshop, due to the equipment they saw on the big desk and unfinished jewlerry that laid on it.

"Definitely a crude rat attempt. Even though it's unfinished it's still worth some money." the wolf said

"Unfinished pieces are better actually. I know some fences that would buy them for quite a price. It, of course depends on the carats, but still, it's not a small amount." the fox added

"Really? Who?" the wolf asked, thinking about something

"'Troyan', 'Hephaestus', 'Breaker' and 'Karat'."

"Yeah, those ones definitely would like to dismantly these and then sell them..." the wolf agreed

"Could these belong to the one that robbed the store?" the bunny asked, holding some hair in her tweezers

"Definitely." the wold replied, as the bunny put the evidence on a plastic bag

"Let me tell you what happened here. Well... In my opinion." the wolf said, drumming his fingers on the side of his jaw "Someone with access to the security system came here when patrolling cops were away. He disabled the allarms, made it look like someone disabled it with their paws, stole everything, except this unfinished jewellery, cleared cameras' memory, finished their job and made off, probably in a vehicle. Any doubts or disagreement?"

"No. Seems preety probable." the bunny said

"Now all we have to do is to catch the bad boy who did it." Nick added

"Considering the evidence it shouldn't be too hard." the wolf replied "I hope all has been photographed and we can go and imvestigate it further in the station. I need to check the owner and the workers-"

"What are you darn cops doing here?" he got interrupted by a male beaver that stormed inside the room "I pay all the taxes, have no problems with the law, never done anything bad. What are you looking for here?"

"You may not have noticed but you got robbed." Nick replied calmly "I can understand you, it's quite hard to see. The entrance is totally not destroyed and the showcases are fine!"

"Shut it, fox. The investigation is pointless as it's clear who did it." the beaver replied

"Really? Who?" the wolf asked

"My silversmith, Alex. He's ended up in a jail once, for burglary. Few years, released earlier for good behaviour." the explained

"Do you have any evidence that it was him?" the wolf asked

"Well... Uhm... No, but-"

"Listen, if you had evidence I could arrest him, but now I can't."

The binocular went down again, as the rabbit knew it was the time to start.

"Call Henry and tell him the wolf's in the cage."

\--

The inside of the car was nothing pleasant for all ten mammals sitting inside. It was foggily and way too hot. That compared with disabled ventilation, their combat suits and them being there in their gas masks most of the time made them eager to come out and start the heist. The feeling wasn't any better with all of them being hungry for a understandable reason - if shot in the belly they had bigger chance of survival.

Now they removed their gas masks, making it better to breathe. If one would look closer they could see drops of sweat travelling down their faces, gluing up their fur in various places, making it look like scales.

"Well." one od them, a honey badger spoke "Before landing in Normandy allied troops were so seasick they preferred german bullets to staying on the water."

"What that has to do with us?" another one, a husky asked

"Definitely nothing with our favourite gerrie, right Heinrich?" a grizzly bear asked, dunching the german shephard next to him

A short laughter followed, with the canine turning head to his right "Ich habe geglaubt, dass zuletzt gewöhnt man sich an alles."

Everyone blinked, unsure what did the dog just say. They looked on each other, trying to see if anyone understood.

"Not so funny now, ha?" the canine asked, with strong accent "I said that I thought one could get used to anything."

"And what?" a binturong asked

"The guy that invented it never met that Russian." the dog replied, pointing at the bear next to him

They would have continued, but a voice coming from the cabin successfully silenced all of them. Well... Most of them.

"Shut up."

"So you do hear us, Henry! Can you turn the ventilation on?" the honey badger asked

"No."

"Why? We're literally dying here! Can't breathe and sweat like fuck!" the grizzly added

"We got the signal. Stay prepared."

"Henryyyy, come on. What's the deal?" a zebra asked

"I don't like you getting relaxed. Put the masks on."

They obeyed, starting to detect bits of annoyance and dangerous tone in wolf's voice.

"Well, not all Russians are social butterflies." a husky, sitting next to the grizzly said, with his voice muffled by the gas mask

"That one sure ain't." the binturong agreed

"Have I told you about that time when Jerry literally fell into a-" the badger started

"Singnal! Ready!" the wolf yelled via radio, making everyone stop talking and pick up their weapons

The driver pressed the gas pedal, got out of the parking lot and turned left, driving into the entrance of the bank, shattering the glass door.

The rest of the mammals grabbed their duffle bags and jumped out, the wolf taking a couple shots up. When watching it a couple houe later cops thought it looked completely badass. The robbers entering the bank, every single one of them wearing kevlar vests, knee, elblow, calf, forearm and crotch protectors, combat knife and pistol on thighs and M40 gas masks made the moment they entered truly unforgetable. But for mammals that were there in the moment of actual robbery it looked more like terryfying.

"EVERYBODY GET ON THE FUCKING FLOOR NOW! THIS IS A ROBBERY!" the bear shouted

It would not have been heard if not for a speaker connected to the microphone inside the mask. Most of the mammals there laid theirselves on the floor, even though many of them were bleeding due to glass shards sent flying after the car hit the door. The rest, consisting of those too shocked, those who tried to stop the bleeding and those who were behind the counter got taken care of preety fast.

"OUT OF THERE AND ON THE FLOOR, NOW! I'M COUNTING TO THREE!" the binturong shouted, aiming at the mammals behind the counter

"You're not going to kill me." one of them, a buck replied

"This ain't a joke. Out of here and on the floor, next to the other, or I'll make another nose for you!" the mammal demanded, aiming his rifle at the buck

"I doubt you have enough balls. If you REALLY wanted me you you would've shot me already." he intimidated

The mammals there heard a faint chuckle behind the mask "You think death is the best I can come up with? Out of there now, or I swear you won't ever forget what I did. One." the mammal said, attaching his G36 to a belt on his vest

"Drop the gun, coward. You probably never shot anybody." the buck replied

"Two." he took his beretta from a holster on his thigh

"That's what I thought, you're only tough when you talk, aren't y-"

The buck didn't end as the binturong shot all the other bankers behind the counter, not aiming for the head or other vital spots. He aimed for the belly, the worst place when talking about getting shot.

"OH FUCK! GUYS, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?" the buck shouted, his brain slowly processing what has just happened

"Fuck you, Jeremy!" one of them replied with a voice full of pain, pressing the wound "I told you that attitude would never do us any good!"

He coughed, letting one of his grey blood-covered paws off his wound. He looked horryfying, aspecially for Jeremy, as he had never seen so much blood.

"Help them get next to the others!" the bear ordered, pointing his gun at him

The rabbit followed, with absent look and walk very similiar to what one could see in hollywood zombie movie. Bunny's mind simply went off, saving it from going insane.

It was then, when security finally decided to make a move. But in the most stupid way. Rather than wait for the ZPD to arrive, or even call it, they all approached twelve armed mammals in number of five, having only glocks.

"Fre-" the one on the front tried to say something, but driver's rifle effectively peevented him from doing that, piercing through the middle of his forehead

The mammal fell, with the rest or surrendering or continuing to naively believe that they still had a chance. A storm of lead quickly proved that they were wrong, making pieces of their bodies fly through the room, landing in various distances from the bodies.

The mammals on the floor closed their eyes, trying not to witness the deaths that took place right on front of them. They fell different than on the movies. However those more observant saw how well the robbers were organized. The driver moved the car to block the entrance and kept doing what he was supposed to do, while the bear moved there with his RPK, watching the street. All done within seconds, without any hesitation or useless moves.

Now this continued, as four mammals stayed there, while the rest went to open the safe, with all the duffle bags. They split up after that, two of them going to secure their exit, the rest to the vault, to open it. The german shephard on the front, with the rest on his back, every one of them watching one specific corner. They finally got there, immediately spreading out, still looking out for enemies.

"Hell of a door, huh?" Heinrich asked

He was right. It was a steel beast, high enough for a giraffe to fit in. When looking at it the dog didn't know if they even could get through it.

"Don't worry. The bigger they are the harder they fall." a golden retriever mext to him replied, getting some explosives out of his backpack

The second dog looked at him. He could definitely tell something was unusual with this individual. Even inside the Phoenix, where many were that guy always brought up attention. Not only by his 'nitroglicerin' temper. They way he talked, did anything was just... Weird. The outcome wasn't better with two M18 'front towards enemy' claymore mines' casings attached to the front of his vest.

"I don't remember your name." the german shephard said as he watched the other canine attach C4 to the lower hinge

"Others call me Mike. I call myself Nitro." he replied, with Heinrich knowing he had that smile that could send shivers up his spine inder his mask

"Nitro?"

"Shorter than nitroglicerin. Help me get up to that hinge." he said and climbed up the wall

"You forgot something." the German said as he watched the dog grabbing the edge of the upper hinge, pulling himself up

"What?" he asked, looking down

"Your explosives, dumbass!" the second canine replied, pointing at the backpack

"Throw 'em to me, dummy!" the shorter dog said, readying one of his arms to catch the explosive

The second one followed, making a perfect throw "You know, I should sign you to fucking NBA, that was an awfully good throw." Mike said as he got the explosive around and under the hinge "Another one."

Heinrich threw it again, maybe not as great as he did earlier, but it did the job. The dog jumped down, moved to the second side of the door and climbed up again, this time a bit lower. The german shephard threw another C4 explosive, reading other canine's mind. His colleauge grabbed it, got it set up and got down.

"It's more than enough. Let's get it open and then out of here." the golden retriever said, picking up his backpack and getting his M16 off the ground

They entered the hall, hid in one of the rooms to the left and then the dog rigged the explosives. The following sound was extremely loud, getting though their ear pods like they weren't there. The noise pierced through their skulls, hurting their ears. The walls, the floor, the ceiling, everything hung on the walls shook. And then, like a snap of one's fingers it was gone.

The mammals slowly stood up, using the walls as support. Many still had problems with hearing, but those who didn't quickly got out of the room to see vault's door on the ground and giant holes in the wall where hinges and lock were.

"Holy shit! You don't fuck around, do you Nitro?" one of them, a black panther asked

"There ain't a boom to big." the dog replied

 _What the hell was that?_ the bear asked via radio

"What happened?" Heinrich asked

 _Every bit of glass over here is gone, shattered into pieces, some of us fell on the ground. Did you at least get in?_ he asked

"Fear not, Dimitri. We're in." the dog replied, entering the vault

The first sight was more than satysfying. Carts filled with notes, hoards in the walls and most of them filled. All the mammals got inside, every one of them knowing what they had to do. And then the alarm went on.

"Shit. Everyone, hurry up! Cops are going to be here any minute." the german shephard said, mobing towards the hoards

As soon as he got to one it opened, with many of them doing the same. All mammals, except the panther got to them, opening their duffle bags and shoving the money inside, as much as they could. After the bags were full they put them on tge ground, filling the second one everyone of them had.

Meanwhile the panther moved the carts on the middle of the vault, shoved the money on the floor and started to move it, creating a picture. He finished with his colleauges, getting up to see his work. A signature of a large bird, stretching its wings to the sides, inside a circle.

"Nitro, hand me the gasoline." he said, turning to the canine

"Well, isn't it an expensive piece of art." the dog said, handing a can full of petrol to the panther

The feline opened it, spilled the gasoline all over the money on the floor and when everybody got out of the vault he set it on fire, by throwing a match on it.

He entered the hall, joining the others "Well... Playtime's over. SWAT's coming, so let's finish the heist and get going." the panther said and moved to the rendezvous point, with everyone following


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

"Do you think this is all?" the bunny asked, taking a sip from her cup of coffee, as she leaned on the wall behind her

"I think it's our part in that done." the fox replied, taking a look on the cars in feont of the jewlerry store

"Why do you think he told us to come with him?" the bunny asked the fox

"What do you mean?" the fox replied, not sure what the bunny wanted to hear

"He could've easily done all he did with us himself, so why did he want us to fo with him? It doesn't make sense to me." Judy explained

"I don't think it was about investigation. I think it was about us." when the rabbit opened her mouth the fox explained, preventing the question "I think he wanted to see if you, the hero of Zootopia isn't fake, if you're a real cop, if you can solve a case, see what a cop see."

"Why?"

"He looks for mammals he can trust and if you're not council's propaganda. I guess. He needs allies and assurance that we know what we're doing Carrots."

"Yeah, I guess you're right... Sly fox."

"Dumb bunny."

They both turned aa they heard wolf's voice, raised up and filled with anger "And you just let them come in? What kind of security are you?!"

They peeked from behind the corner, seeing the wolf hung up the mammal on hos phone. He grabbed the radio and said:

"Clawhauser, I want all avaible SWAT, officers and K9 units to get to Jordans' Bank, ASAP. Combat armor and live rounds, this is a tight situation." he said and turned the radio off "You two, come on!" he told to Nick and Judy, heading towards his car

"Looks like we do have an assignment for today. Let's go, Whiskers!" the fox said as he headed towards their crusier

The rabbit followed him, getting inside the car "What do you think it's happening?" she asked, putting on her seatbelt

"From what I heard bank robbery. A big one." the fox replied, starting the engine

The drive to precinct one caught them silent. Both of them were thinking, both about different things. Judy wondered how bad the situation was, while Nick thought about a certain moment in his life, a turning point.

When they got to the station they immediately went downstairs, through the shooting range, finally stopping inside ZPD's armory. They recieved their gear, equipped theirselves and then recieved their weapons. Judy had to wait a bit longer as ZPD hadn't got so much R-sized equipment, but after some time she got her MP5. She went out with the fox, who had his AR-15 on his back. They exited the building, went to their crusier and drove to the bank.

During the ride Judy didn't feel well. The combat suit and the weapon, two things that the bunny wanted to use as least as possible now came to her, ironically needed to be used. She remembered that it was a problem at academy too, but now, when she knew it was most likely necessary to use them she felt even worse.

"Carrots, are you okay? You seem a bit... Down." the fox said, turning left

"I don't like weapons. It doesn't matter if they're criminals or law-abiding citizens, it just seems wrong to me." she explained

"I can't help you then." the fox replied "But I wish more mammals were like you." he added after a while

The fox parked the car next to a line of cruisers, ad the cars already stood opposite the entrance to the bank. The duo got out of the car, only to see the black wolf approaching the officers using the car as cover.

"You're in deep trouble now! Please exit the bank without your weapons, as you'll be catched eventually!" a female lion spoke through a megaphone

The wolf approached her, took it and said "Hey, assholes! I don't know who you are working with and what is your goal, but I'll chase you relentlessly either way! So you may hide there now, being cocky about your position and the fact you have hostages, but we don't care if we get you outside or inside! So go ahead, demand access, shield yourselves with hostages, do what you like, because you can do jack shit!" he ended and put the megaphone down "Get those ZNN choppers out of here!" he ordered and turned to the lion behind him "Hey, Topknot! Would be nice if you covered the entrance with this bad girl!" he told him, pointing at his M14 springfield

The lion spat on the road, nodded and positioned himself in the back, in order not to be seen. Meanwhile the fox and the bunny got to the wolf.

"Officers Hopps and Wilde reporting for duty!" the rabbit said, as the wolf turned to them

"Good thing you decided to come here." he replied "The situation is bad, I won't lie; VERY bad."

"How does it look?" the fox asked the wolf

"As I said, it's tight. They have hostages, they're well trained and even better equipped." the wolf said "SWAT's already here, same as K9. We have every entrance covered, same with streets. Only problem is the one connected to the road on our closest left turn. Only two cops, but considering we're close it shouldn't be much of a problem."

The bunny wanted to ask about something else, but as she opened her mouth a mammal behind the car in bank's entrance opened fire, warning two officers who tried to get a little bit closer.

"Status?" the bear asked the mammal on the other side of the radio, ducking as he stopped firing his RPK

 _They went back. Comms are hot, but the plan will work._ he heard in his ear pod

"Keep is updated." the binturong said, moving his gaze from one hostage to another, making sure that they won't get any stupid ideas

 _Uhm, guys we could use some help in the back alley._ he heard Heinrich in his earpod, sounding somewhat concerned

"Go. Me and Igor will take care of this." the binturong told the others, who nodded and ran out to help their colleauges

The escape was the pinnacle of the heist. Very carefully planned it could be or done perfect or not work at all. It was a risk, but a risk worth taking.

They got there and saw the rest of the mammals, getting the duffle bags inside one car, with three more standing by it. All synchronized, with only one mammal not working. A golden retriver, who removed his assault suit, dressed just like a normal mammal would.

"What's the issue?" two mammals that got there asked

"As the drivers help with the duffle bags they won't drive off so fast, replace them!" Heinrich told them as he put the duffle bags inside the car

The mammals attached their rifles to their vests and replaces the drivers, getting the duffle bags inside as fast as they could. When they finished they all got in the empty cars, except the dog and two more mammals, who waited for Henry to sinal them to start the distraction. However, the wolf was quite nervous as he talked with a mammal via his radio.

"Listen, knowing if someone is there is crucial for us! So yes, or no?" he said, his gaze nervously moving between the cars and the street

 _Henry, I already told you, I have lost access to the system and I'm not good enough to regain it! I'm sorry, but for now you're on your own._

"Fuck!" the wolf hissed and signaled the mammals nearby the end of back alley to start the distraction

The dog ran towards the cops guarding the street, with terrified face expression. The officers, an anthelope and a ram immediately got their guns out, aiming at the back alley, ready to fire the guns at incoming mammals. If only they paid closer attention to the dog they would've seen his paws, dangerously close to his lower back. But it was too late.

The dog pulled two glocks from holsters attached to his lower back, aiming at the officers' heads. They might still have a chance if not two mammals that moved out of the alley, threatning the officers with their assault rifles.

The cops had nothing better to do than put their guns down and put their hoofs up, angrily witnessing as the mammals watched them. Soon after that they heard multiple engines starting and saw two cars immediately driving out, the third one stopping to take mammals on the street and the last one, driving after the third one drove off. Then the ram grabbed his radio and reported:

"Tim and Franc here, they're escaping through back alley!" he said as the anthelope got inside their car and started the engine

"Shit!" the black wolf hissed as he heard the ram "Everyone except the ones inside the bank, in the cars and let's go get them! Tusk, you and your group go and try to cut them off, follow instructions from the chopper!" he ordered, looking at the boar who commanded the SWAT

He got inside the car where officer Jackson sat in driver's seat and officer Johnson in the back seat. He put on his seatbelt, greeting both tiger and lion. Then, as they almost drove out another lion got inside, his M14 on his back.

"May I stay?" he asked, putting on his seatbelt

"You're already here, so what the hell." the wilf replied "Hit the gas, we gotta catch them!" he told to the tiger

Their car moved, followed by multiple police cruisers. They all turned right, seeing all four robbers' cars being followed by the anthelope and the ram.

"Black here. The car with the money is somewhere in the middle. Don't pay much attention to ones on the front and back. I want the chopper to inform us online." the wolf said to his radio

Roger that boss. one of the mammals from the chopper replied

Are we allowed to shoot to kill? the mammals heard officer's Higgins voice, coming from the radio

"Confirmed. They don't fuck around, so stay on your guard." the wolf replied, grinning as he saw that distance between them and those four cars significently decreased

"Who do you think is that?" officer Johnson asked

"Do you mean crime organization?" the second lion asked

"Well, yeah."

"Ain't that obvious? It's the Phoenix." the wolf replied "Do you think you could make the shot, Mr. Topknot?"

"Yeah, but I need those cops in front of us to get out of the way." the lion replied, calculating his chances

"Cruiser 5, slow sown and get to the left." the wolf said and watched as the car slowed down and moved

The lion got the glass pane down, peeked from the window and scoped in "What am I aiming for, chief?" he asked

"If you can't blow up the wheels go for the driver." the wolf replied

The lion nodded, slowly moving his index finger towards the trigger. His crosshair was exactly at driver's paw, his mind calculating the bumping, waiting for perfect time to press the trigger. And then it came. Out of nowhere, he just knew it. His finger pressed the trigger, his gun pressing his arm as the projectile flew to his target.

The back window broke, with one bullet hole and a net of cracks going from the hole to the rest of the pane. Then the mammals heard a cry of pain and saw the car almost crashing on the wall on its right.

"Fuck!" the binturong said, grabbing the wheel as the car almost crashed "Larry, you okay?" he asked the driver

"Apart from my right paw not funcioning anymore - yeah." the dingo replied, hissing "Shit. Front window is damned." he said as he moved his gaze up, seeing the glass shattered to pieces

"Igor, cover our arse." the binturong said, turning back "Can you drive?" he asked the Dingo

"Yeah. Can you take care of that winow?"

The mammal nodded, took his G36 and using his stock he broke the window, bringing visibility back. The driver adjusted their course and sped up, getting away from the cops. It was then, when the bear turned in his seat and pressed the trigger, shattering back window to pieces by firing bullets at cops behind him.

"Duck!" the wolf shouted and pushed the tiger next to him down, avoiding the bullets

Both lions behind them got down too, almost feeling the bullets om their backs. Leo put his M14 behind him, placed one of his feet on a protuding piece of plastic, grabbed the door, opened it and pushed himself away, giving himself an opportunity to bring down the bear. He aimed his pistol, which he pulled out of his holster earlier and shot, hitting the bear, who growled as he fell back. The second lion closed the door and moved away, with his eyes full of amazement.

"Hell of a good job, there topknot!" rhe wolf said, getting up

"Name's Leo." the lion replied, grabning his rifle

"Did you get him?"

"Wasn't a lethal shot. I think I destroyed his jaw, though."

Indeed, the bear got hit in the jaw, holding it with visible pain.

"Move, I'll gauze." a wolf next to him said, opening his medkit

The bear laid his head on wolf's knees, putting his RPK under the seat. The wolf removed the gas mask, sterilized the wound, put some gauze on it and then wrapped it with bandages, finishing the job. The bear got up, grabbed his gun and waited for the orders.

"Did you see that?" the rabbit asked, witnessing as the lion shot the bear

"It looked preety skillful and hollywood, but I don't think it'd give us any further advantage." the fox replied, focused on driving

Their crusier was the third in line, with only one car between them and the chief.

"How long is this alley?" Judy asked, slightly confused, as they kept driving in it for a while

"It'll end soon." the fox replied "Goddammit! They will drive away if ot stays like that!" the fox said, hitting the wheel

"What do you think we should do, then?" the bunny asked

"They're driving to closest Nocturnal district entrance. I know a shortcut that can help us catch one of them." the fox replied as they drove onto a bigger street

As the robbers turned right the fox kept driving forward, getting into another alley, going diagonally. Nick hit the gas harder, speeding up quite a bit. After a while, not longer than one minute the fox turned left, scratching the paint on the crusier by clipping the corner. After the maneuver they saw the same street, in a short distance. As the fox drove forward they sae the first robbers' car, almost immediately disappearing behing the corner on the right.

"Prepare for a impact, Whiskers." Nick said as he got very close to the end of the alley, after the second car passed by

"Nick, what d-" the bunny tried to ask as she got interupted by the thrid car, hitting them in the side

That would not be so bad if not the fourth car, whose driver was not able to turn right and avoid it, due to his injured paw. Because of that he hit the second car, blocking both of them.

If not for the seatbelt the rabbit would most likely fly left, hitting the fox with a force thay could easily injure both of them. Fortinately for her she fastened it, so avoided getting any injuries at all. The fox had similiar luck, as the airbag on the side precented him from hitting the door.

"Judy, get out of the car, I'll follow." he said, unbuckling his seatbelt

"What if they shoot me?" the rabbit asked, doing the same

"Trust me, they're still dizzy." Nick replied

Robbers were as lucky as the duo. While those sitting in front had the airbags protecting them the mammals on the back had the seatbelts. With that none of them had any major injuries and all of them were ready to get out and face the ZPD.

"Car three, you okay?" the binturong asked, readying his G36

Yeah. No one hurt. he heard in his earpod

"Any ideas how do we get away?" the driver next to the binturong asked

Just follow my lead. nitro replied

That'll be interesting. someone from the second car said

Right then three SWAT crusiers parked next to them, with all the mammals exiting them.

"It's seven versus twelve. Shit." the driver said, looking through the window

Seven?

"My paw is disabled." the dingo explained

"ZPD! Exit your vehicles with paws behind your heads!" one of SWAT officets ordered

Second vehicle's door opened and Mike, wearing his asault suit entered the street.

"I said paws on your head!" the officer said, aiming at the canine

"What is he doing?" the dingo asked, no one in perticular

"And I say put your gun down, or you and your fellow officers will go boom." the dog replied, his right paw on upper mine detonator well, his left paw on lower one "Hatatatata, no one moves!" he shouted, his paws moving dangerously close to the detonation

Two officers, who tried to hide behind the car froze, sweating nervously.

Henry, Waldo, Adrew and Walther exit the car. the black wolf, sitting inside the car heard

"Move out. Hide wounds." the wolf said, picking up his gun

The bear and the binturong opened the doors, entering the street. Not like everyone, though. They did it with guns in their paws, scanning their surroundings, looking for dangers which they didn't find. After a quick signal the rest quickly moved in, going in the alley.

"Hold on, calm down..." one of the SWAT said, trying to solve the situation

"If I were you I'd be more focused on the sniper on the roof." the dog replied

And then, with nobody expecting it officer's right arm got pierced by 5,56 mm NATO round. He let go a cry of pain as thesecond one flew through the back of his calf, bowling him over.

The rest of the officers ran behind the car, seeking cover from sniper's eye. They were too busy to see the dog runming away, to the same alley where his colleauges went. As he passed by Nick and Judy's crusier the fox decided to act. He stepped in, getting behind the escaping canine and grabbed him, locking his arms in a grip.

"Carrots, cuff him!" he said, wrestling with the dog

The rabbit ran behind the dog, cuffed his right paw and then jumped on their crusier's seat, locking the second canine by cuffing his left paw after moving the chain behind window's frame, after the fox dragged him there.

Nick let go of the dog, moving away from him. The golden retriever tried to beak free, but the cuffs held him too well. He stopped after his third attempt, looking at the duo behind his gas mask. The fox removed it, uncovering dog's face. He looked at them with nothing perticular in his gaze, his face still. The he grinned and said:

"If not for the banner behind you you'd already got sniped."

"But there's a banner." the fox replied

"Yeah. But if it wasn't there you wouldn't have had any chance." the second canine replied, chuckling a bit

They might continue, but then another SWAT car stopped next to the rest of them. A passenger's seat window opened and a boar, with one of his tusks broken almost at the base shouted:

"What are you doing there?! The robbers ran that way!" he told, opening the door

"There's a sniper!" one of the officers replied, on what the boar grabbed a smoke grenade and threw it on the street, blocking the view "Evolution would cry if it saw that! Use your brains!" he told them, getring out of the car as the smoke covered the street

All the officers ran for the escaping criminals, using all speed they had. It wasn't about getting them, it was about catching up. Unfortunately the moment they saw them was the last one closing the drain pit, entering the sewer system. As the boar saw that he cursed and activated his radio.

"Tusk here. We lost the ones from the accident." he said

"It's black. We have a visual on the last two." the wolf replied, watching as his crusier got closer and closer to the second car

Then something unexpected happened. As the cars drove onto the connector leading to Nocturnal district two large, armed mammals peeked from the corner, both wearing combat suits similiar to the robbers' started shooting their heavy machine guns, sending kilos of lead flying at the cars chasing thier colleauges.

The only option the cops had was to turn, avoiding the deadly projectiles. The first two crusiers did that, getting awat from their fate. The third one wasn't so lucky as bullets pierced it, killing the cops in the first row, making the car unintentionally drive into the connector, into the darkness of Nocturnal District.

The shooters accomplished their goal, as the rest of the cars stopped, giving time to the escaping robbers.

"They'll kill us!" officer Jackson panicked as officer Johnson pulled him out of the car

"They would kill us, if we stayed inside, so calm down, we're technically safe." the second lion replied, wondering how to take the shooters out "Hey, chief!" he brought wolf's attention "Could you try to distract one of them? I'd take him out then!"

The wolf nodded, got behind car's door and fired his pistol through the window, hitting one of the mammals. He knew that 9 mm bullet won't get through that armor, but he needed to get that mammal's attention.

"I'll help too!" officer Johnson said, pulling out his gun

He got behind the second door and before the wolf could do anything he fired a few shots, getting mammal's attention.

A second later he wished he'd never done that.

.50 caliber rounds easily flew through car's door, sending pieces of plastic all around the places where bullets made holes. The lion jumped back, hit by one of the shrapnel, as the bullets followed him, going to kill him eventually.

The second lion knew it was his time to act. Or he kills the gunner, or an officer next to him dies.

He stood up and aimed his M14, getting the cross on shooter's head. Wind and distance too small to affect projectile's flight. The lion pressed the trigger, ending the action which he had done automatically, his moves smooth as butter. He realized what he'd done only when the bullet hit the mammal, spraying blood behind his head.

The lion got down, leaning on the wheel as he tried to calm himself, breathing heavily. It happened. He killed a person.

Although he knew it could have happened he did not think about it. Like he had a sore tooth and waited to go to the dentist, holding up the inevitable.

Meanwhile the situation developed not to last shooter's advantage. Without his colleauge covering his flank he knew it was onlu a matter of time until the cops take him down.

"I repeat, am I allowed to retreat?" he asked via radio, not letting go the trigger

His time drastically passed, as the barrel of his gun slowly turned incardine, foreshadowing it getting jammed.

 _Agreed. Closing the gate now._ he heard those five words, which he waited for

He started to go back, his gun still throwing bullets at the police as the metal door in front of him started to close. He went step by step, up to the moment when his gun jammed, making him unprotected. He threw it on the floor and started to run down like hell, entering the Nocturnal district.

"Shit!" the black wolf cursed, witnessing the gate closing "Looks like we have no one to interrogate. How I love this." he said to the radio, trying to let his frustration go

 _You're wrong, chief._ a male voice, belonging to a certain red fox denied _We_ have one.

\--

Three mammals watched their boss trying to interrogate the dog, hidden by the one way window.

"He's not going to say anything." the fox said, getting up and turning to the boar and the bunny

"No shit, Sherlock! I can see the proud ones from a distance." the boar replied

The wolf stood up angrily and exited the room, joining the trio. He took a cup from the table and took a sip or two.

"If anyone has any idea - go ahead." he said, his voice reassuring that he gave up

"I think I could do well there." the fox replied

The black-furred mammal just gave a signature, without necassary explanation. The fox took the file with the photos and enteres the interrogation room, looking at them. He seemed not interested in the second canine, casually walking towards the empty chair.

Then, when he got there, he hit the file on the table, making photos fly out of it. The dog jumped a bit, not expecting something like that. The fox continued, slamming his paws hard on the table.

"Eighty million dollars stolen and five million burnt! Looks like you all wanted to have a good time spending them, huh!" he shouted, slowly walking around the table "Well, none of it for you. You will rot here, while your collauges will have life-long holiday, somewhere nice. You will spend the rest of your life in cell slightly bigger than your measurments, eating low food until you die. And I will be in the court, I will make sure that happens. I will make sure you are sentenced for stealing all the money from the bank."

"We did not steal whole money." the dog replied, rather confused

"That's a nice beggining. You don't want to get sentenced for something you didn't do - talk to me." the fox said

The second canine hesitated a while, and then spoke: "What do you want to know?"

"Let's start woth the equipment. Where did you get it?" the fox asked, sitting opposite the robber

"We bought it before the action. A retired soldier, has access to all sorts of weapons and equipment." the dog replied, without a blink of an eye

Nick cracked up "Listen. You can sell me this crap, you can lie however much you want and I could pretend that nothing is happening. You have the disadvantage here. You need me more than I need you. So use the chance I'm giving you."

"Okay. I recieved equipment from the armory. No idea where it came from." the dog replied, seeing that faking wasn't an option there

"That's better. How many of you took part in the heist?" the fox asked, leaning in a bit

"Sixteen."

"Why did you take only part of the money?"

"It was supposed to be a message." the dog replied, with his voice suggesting it was obvious

"A meassage you say... To whom?" he asked, hiding his interest

"Does the five agreement say anything to you?" the dog replied, looking at the cop like he knew the fox faked

"Five conference."

"Two names, one meaning. You have, didn't you?"

"Yes, yes I did. I understand that the money burnt was your business card." the fox replied

"Good work, detective." the dog did not hide his appreciation

"Quit it. I suppose you won't ever tell me who you were with." the fox cut the dog, not desiring any respect

"I won't repeat myself."

"I would've found out myself, but one of you bastards shot Terry... Well, I'll find out another way." the fox complained "Why did you break the agreement?"

"They broke it first. If they want to dp it like that we'll follow."

"Yeah, looks like I understand." the fox got up

"Is this everything, officer?" the dog asked

"For now. I may speak with you later on." Nick replied, exiting the interrogation room

"Did you really think I was afraid of you?" the dog asked, stopping the second canine in the doorframe

"What?"

"You think you're tough, because you jumped at me? Everybody would move back a bit after someone hit the table they sat in. Natural reaction. But you ain't scary, or intimidating or... Whatever. What I mean is... Do you really think we'd cooperate? I told you what you could figure out youeself, nothing you needed. Your boss, the wolf... No one I saw impresses me, scares me. All of you are not comparable to the real male, real predator that MY boss is." the dog replied, letting his inner, mad self speak

"Your boss? Probably just another little shrimp, who got his paws at three polar bears... And then it all just rolled." the fox intimitated the dog, hoping for him to tell more

"Compare your european wolf to a damn siberian death machine. Taller a head, looking like a living muscle. Knows how to shoot, use lknives,macjetes, swords, whatever he finds. He ain't mommy's boy pipsqueak. He's a trained killing machine and he'll kill you if you get in his way." the dog replied

The fox just exited the room and closed the door.

"Do we have any criminal comparable to this description?" he asked, sitting on his chair

"I'll make sure they take a look. Good job." the wolf replied, not hiding his approval "Get back to your case."


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Nick looked at the paper sheet, which he hid in his pocket for quite a long time, waiting to continue the investigation. He looked at every name, roughly written by his pencil. At that time he could broadly estimate where most of them lived. The problem was if they were there.

All was set - they could go right then if they wanted to. They checked every single person from the list, making sure they could blow their cover. Now the rabbit basically waited for the fox to pinpoint their locations and get them to justice.

The fox sighed and leaned back "Are you ready, Whiskers?" he asked the bored rabbit sitting near the desk

Her ears perked up "Will we finally do something?" she asked hopefully

"Yep. Have all the adresses and we have all the footage and evidence to get them to the station. Well, if they are home." the fox replied, getting up from his chair

The bunny joined him, as he entered the corridor, heading for the garage. They entered their car and drove for the first mammal on the list.

"As far as I know he'd say he was working when the shooting happened." the fox said as they climbed up the stairs "We have the resonse, don't we?"

"Yeah." the rabbit replied, placing a paw on her phone "Everything's here. What's his species?"

"A dog, golden retriever to be exact. Fourth floor. We're here." the fox said, looking for apartment fifteen

They entered the clean corridor, enjoying the feeling of fluffy, brown carpet on their feet. The duo turned left and knocked at the white door. In a moment the door opened, revealing a rusty-spotted cat, wearing a black tank top and dark grey short pants. They could tell that she had washed earlier as her fur was still wet in some places.

She sighed "Alright, what did he do this time?"

Both of the cops looked at each other "Has he had any problems with the law?" the bunny asked, picking her notepad

"Well, if I'm correct at least thrice. Last time was... Seven or six... Yeah, I think six monts ago. They never told me anything though." she replied

"Mind if we came in?" the fox asked

"No. Make yourselves at home." the feline replied, moving to the left, so the officers could come in

They did that, entering a small apartment, consisting of four rooms. A living room, with microscopic place for cooking, two bedrooms connected to the right and a bathroom, with space comparable to a janitor closet, on the left. It may seem like it was small, however comparing to many other places across the city, aspecially in Nocturnal District it was quite large.

"Could we take a look at his room, miss?" the fox asked

"It's the one on the right. Oh and please call me Maria." the cat replied "Do you want some coffee?"

"The would be great, thanks." the bunny replied, opening the door to dog's room

The things they saw weren't anything that could bring their attention. They entered it, trying to see anything unusual, anything that would be an excuse for digging in dog's things. The bunny walked right in front of the bed, covered in heavy layer of dust. She rose her eyebrow and looked around the room, spotting the detail that escaped their attention earlier. She opened her mouth, but the fox was faster:

"He's gone for a while, don't you think?" he said, looking at the papers on the scratched desk

"You're right. What have you got there?" she asked

"Nothing suspicious." he replied "Here's a letter three weeks old. Here's a bill from the bank and here's a reminder from..." the canine stopped, grabbed the paper rapidly, making the rest fly "...an illegal armory, which demands to pay for a G36 assault rifle, a pack of 5,56 mm ammo and some accesories."

"Well, that's a good reason to start looking." the bunny said, opening the wardrobe

"If you were more right you would turn around." the fox replied, analizing the rest of the papers

The bunny dug through clothes, searching for more evidence. She assumed that it would not just lay at top od the pile, so she was heavily surprised as she found a pack of ammo in one of the towels.

"You too got gems like that?" she asked as she pulled the pack out of the wardrobe

"Will this do?" the fox asked, holding a MP40 gas mask

"I guess. Do you think he has more of it?"

"Well, if I were the guy I'd put a weapon in my apartment." the fox replied, placing the mask on the bed "Somewhere hidden, but easy to access."

They kept searching, the bunny examining the furniture, while the fox spotted something unusual, a detail interblending so well he did not think he would find it if he was not focused on it. Three boards on the floor, close to the wall. A little bit darker than others. He frowned. In other conditions he would not pay attention, but considering the fact he found the letter he kneeled next to them and knocked on one. A hollow sound made clear that there was space behind them. The fox got his claws out and started to pull the boards after he put them in the small holes betwren them and rehular floor.

With a little effort he managed to pull them up, revailing a tiny hoard. After he moved two remaining boards he whistled, slightly impressed.

The bunny was just behind him, shocked by the sight. Apart from a full set of a body-protecting gear there were two boxes of rifle ammo, one of pistol, a G36 and a glock.

"Well, I would really like to hear some good fantasy listening to him trying to explain that shit." the fox said, getting up

"Are you going for a bigger evidence bag?" she asked, hoping the hoard was a fake, that they did not have to deal with someone with that big arsenal

 _If we'll have to... One mistake and Nick or... Or I am dead..._ she thought, terrified by the weapons

The fox went downstairs, cursing under his breath _Just my luck... If someone has an armoury right beneath their feet, filled with military-grade ammo things sure wouldn't go as smooth as even the biggest naysayer planned. Judy... I don't even care if anything happens to me, she can't get hurt. I can't mix her into my personal troubles and past.  
_

He got to their crusier, getting the bag out of the car. The fox went up the stairs again, walking into the apartment as he got to the fourth floor.

He walked into dog's room, witnessing Judy talking with the cat, who seemed quite nervous.

"The cops never told me! I don't know!" the cat said, evidently at the edge of panic

"Okay miss, I understand. Please calm down." the bunny tried to still her, but it didn't work

"Listen, if my landlord finds out he will kick both of us and he wouldn't care about me, not including my roommate! I can't afford any flat nearby and I'm not returning to the worse ones!" she exclaimed

"Maria. We won't tell him, don't worry. Right Carrots?" the fox assured

"Nick, don't you remember that we'll have to fill in the documents? We'll have to write down where we find it."

"Then we will lie. We will write that we found them somewhere else." the fox replied

Judy would never expect that. In her view because Nick was connected to crime he would not risk that anytime soon. She thought he would strictly obey all the rules, not fight with them.

But he did the opposite, making a proposition that could get both of them in trouble.

"Carrots, may we talk in different room?" the fox asked, seeing that she might not agree

As they went out of the room and closed the door the bunny spoke:

"Nick, why did you do that?" she asked, starting to get angry "We have to obey the procedures!"

"I did it because that was what I told I would be doing." the fox replied "I swore to help mammals if they were in any trouble. We can catch the guy with her getting thrown out of the house, but will this be the best outcome?"

"This best outcome can get both of us in trouble!" the bunny replied, quiet enough for the feline not to hear her

"Judy. We are supposed to help mammals, right? We will not help her if we get that guy with saying where we got those guns. But we can get him with us lying, which will both help her and the mammals he could rob." the fox explained calmly

"But if they find out we will get in trouble! And we may even lose our jobs!" the bunny replied, noticing he was serious

"I don't think you would lose your job at all. You could be useful. I am the problem." the fox said

"You are NOT the problem! Who ever told you that?" the bunny asked, confused by the fact he was so peaceful

"It ain't that hard to figure out. Predators aren't seen nicely in jobs like firefighter, or a police officer not mentioning being a doctor." the fox said "Even those from good families, so imagine a one with criminal background."

"Nick, we-"

"No! It ain't 'we'! It's me who would take the risk! And I say it's not that we should do that, it's what we have to do." he cut her off, starting to feel a little bit annoyed

Judy opened her mouth, but she closed it without any word, not sure what should she say. That she did jot want him to be fired? She assumed that with him gone she could not work with anyone else, that she would not be happy.

"So... How do you want to cover it?" she asked

"The key to lying successfully is not to tell the whole truth. We'll say that we found them in his cache and if we are asked where exactly we'll say in the trash."

"Huh?"

"His room was full of trash. The cache was beneath the floor, so it was in the trash." Nick explained

Judy nodded. That made some sense, psychologically satisfying one's desire for truth. They walked inside the room again. The fox gladly noticed that the cat calmed down, with a cup of tea in her paw. She slowly sipped it, sitting on dog's bed.

"You don't have to worry, miss. The landlord will not know we found it here." the fox said, putting on his rubber gloves

The cat sighed with relief as the fox put all the guns in the bag, not forgetting about taking photos first. Meanwhile his partner questioned the cat, collecting anything that could be useful in the case.

They took their time leaving, hoping to find something else, but or they did not find it or it was hidden too well.

When they finally left they left the evidence at the station. Then they staryed everything from the beggining again, this time picking another mammal from the list. However this time when they knocked at the door no one answered them. The bunny did not like it, opposite to the fox, who knew that they would not be so lucky with everyone.

In that day including the next one most of their work was exactly that. Arriving at suspect's house or apartment and if anyone opened entering and searching it.

Including the two first one they were in nine apartments, with three theu could enter. Although they did not find any of the robbers nor any more evidence some of the criminals' roomates provided useful information, which confirmed that all the names they were given were true.

"So, who's next?" the bunny asked, putting on her seatbelt

"You know, actually we could go home now." the fox replied, after he checked the hour "If I am correct at this time he won't be home. It's more possible to catch him in the early hours."

"Are you sure about this, Slick?" the bunny asked

"If I weren't I wouldn't make this offer." the canine replied

Just after they got back to the station the fox got a text message. He got his phone out, unlock it and read the text.

"Looks like they finally could organize the shooting competiton. You wanna come, Whiskers?" Nick asked

"Sure! It could be fun." the bunny replied

Nick nodded, asked the bear when and where and then, after they changed the duo went to the shooting range.

It was full of officers, including many familiar faces, but also some mammals they did not know. The fox and the bunny moved between them, to the point when they saw officer Grizolli.

"Well, looks like it took you some time to organize it." the fox said, shaking his colleauge paw

"You know, out sniper had a little problem after he shot the criminal who tried to kill us." the bear replied "Some mental problems. Had to see the psychologist, but now he's alright I assume."

"Who is he against?" the bunny asked

"A guy from Rainforest district. He is the champion since forever. If I had to tell you how darn proud of himself he is I wouldn't have enough time. That guy thinks he is the best in the world, you know, says what he would do if he wanted to."

"This is the kind of mammals I love." Nick replied, not hiding his sarcasm

"Hey, looks like Bogo's favourite officer made it here!" Wolfard said, approaching the talking mammals

"I just couldn't miss two naughty boys playing with guns." the fox replied, greeting the wolf

"Do you want to place a bet?" the wolf asked

"Who's favoured?"

"Gary. I mean, the nyala that's about to come." the wolf said "Those who will bet on our lion will get a small fortune when he wins."

"Now you don't have to tell me who you placed your bet on." the fox replied "I bet two hundred our lion wins." Nick said, giving two notes to the wolf

"Ain't bets forbidden?" the bunny asked, fairly confused "Won't you guys get in trouble if the chief finds out?"

"He placed five hundred alone!" the bear said, shaking his head "He is here, too. Talking to some other officers somewhere."

"Bogo? Ain't he on a leave?" the bunny asked

"It's Black, you know the one who replaces him."

"Were you scared when he got here?" the fox asked

"I bet some of those who made a bet almost made their pants brown." the bear said "He was like 'Hey, you know bets are forbidden here?', but then he said 'Good I've just ended my shift.'."

"That's what I call making your workplace an enjoyable place." the fox said chuckling "Imagine mr. grumpy ass witnessing that!"

"Half of the precinct getting parking duty? Boy, that would be a lot of fun." the wolf replied

They would continue the talk, but at that moment the second competitor came, announcing his arrival like a pop star on their newest concert.

"I want to welcome the poor bastard who thought he could defat me. Everyone who placed their bet on me - you can already count how much money you will take with you home!" he said, not hiding his confidence, nor hubris

"Well, aren't you a nice guy!" the fox said

"I don't have to be nice! I'm the best sniper in this city!" the nyala said, turning to the fox "Oh, come on!" he said as he spot him and the rabbit "I didn't know you invited fucking girl guides here!"

The wave of laughter that followed was not that big as one would expect. But the nyala did not care if anyone but him was amused.

"It takes one to know one. Your friends thought of everything, inviting someone equal in terms of both intellect and age." the fox replied, not confounded at all

The nyala was about to respond, but he got interrupted just as he opened his mouth.

"Girls, you're both beautiful, there's no doubt, but how about you start? I came here to see two mammals shooting targets, not two crybabies discussing who has better toys!" the black wolf exclaimed

The nyala sighed and walked towards his weapon - a Barret MRAD. The mammal put in the magazine and placed the first bullet in the chamber, with a quiet click.

"So, what are the rules and what do we shoot?" he asked, approaching the seating

The wolf turned on the light in the further part of the building, revailing red and blue targets "You shoot red ones, Leo shoots blue ones. Simple as that."

"Easy... Do you count the time? Because then it will be too easy."

"We do. Every shot counts, too. You have twenty bullets for twenty targets." the tiger added

"Finally a challenge worth me!" the nyala said and turned to the seating

"Good luck." the lion said, as he entered the second seating with another Barret MRAD

"Save that for yourself, you'll need it if you want to have a score half as good as mine!" the nyala replied

The lion did not answer as the wolf counted from three to one, accompanied by the rest of the officers, who got closer to the protecting glass, excited for the upcoming event.

Then, as the wolf said 'go' he aimed his gun for the target at middle distance, in order to feel the weapon. He observed where the bullet hit, corrected his aim as he shot the second one and shot it, this time hitting the ten almost on the middle.

This did not take much time, though - the time between shots totalled a little less that one and a half of a second.

Opposite to the lion the nyala did not try to feel the weapon, shooting the furthest target first, moving to another one.

Both shots were comparable to lion's in terms of time, which only made the spectators more excited. They roared in joy as the targets got destroyed, hissed as the bullets hit the lower ranks, discussed whether they placed the bets right and drank beer.

It was easy to tell that their skill level was pretty equal. The targets got destroyed one after another, both in center or not so far from it. However the more perceptive ones saw that lion's moves were more fluent, more precise and his aim more steady. They nyala though was far more fast-acting, which appeared through his shots, rather than waiting to hit it perfect he went for the numbers.

The result of this was to be seen, as the last target got destroyed. Very close, but visible.

Both mammals went out of the seatings, not expecting this level of chatter. The officers quarelled, roared and discussed hard, trying to find out who won.

Then the nyala felt unease for the first time. In previous competitions he never waited, it was always clear that he won. But now... He did not expect nor wanted that.

"I would like you guys to quiet down a bit!" Wolfard said, with almost immediate effect "The competition was extrememly interesting, with both comeptitiors getting very close score. But one of them won with three points! Ladies and gentlemammals, we have a new champion!"

"HA! Told you all!" the black wolf exclaimed, getting up "Pay up!"

Most of the mammals cursed under their breaths, as the few ones who placed their bets on the lion gained easy money.

"There's one thing that concerns me, though." the red fox said, counting the money

"Leave concern for tommorow, we have a night to cellebrate, dammit!" the wolf said

"If you come to the precinct with hungover you can be sure I'll place you next to the dockyard." a black wolf said, getting behind them "With the ships dinnin' and the sailors 'singing' you won't have a good time."

"Oh, come on chief!" the fox said "It has to be the win of the century, we need to let our emotions go!"

"Listen, you have friday. Friday is the magical day, when there's no work the next one!" the wolf replied, with both seriousness and amusement in his voice

"Besides, you won't win with your own boss..." the fox added

"That's a good statement! If I could I'd give you a Nobel prize!"

"Don't worry chief, that will do for now." Nick replied, showing his little roll of bank notes

"Watch out, with that amount of money you may turn into selfish quiet millionare!" Wolfard joked

"I already am! I borrowed ten dollars the other day, now I am living from interest!" the fox replied, with a laughter following

"Alright, go home and sleep." the black wolf replied "I will probably sleep for three hours, so when I see anyone sleepy or not doing their job I may be a bit nasty."

The mammals did as the wolf said, coming to work as usual. They planned to celebrate on friday, in a bar Nick recommended.

The duo went to Nick's apartment, slept there and after the night they drove to the last person the list

"Is it good? I mean, the bar?" Judy asked

"It's a masterpiece, not a bar. Founded by a guy from Finland, with his German and Russian friends. 'Northen forest' if I remember." the fox replied, looking for a parking spot

"Is it big?"

"It's huge. They started as a small pub and now they have two-stored building with so many tables, it really is concerning." Nick replied, parking the car

They got out of it and walked up the stairs like they did many times earlier. However, when they were just about to knock on the door they heard glass breaking inside the apartment, which made them pull out their tranq guns.

Then the door opened rapidly, with the mammal behind jumping at the cops. He probably hoped to hit one of them and jump on another one as his companions would get the stunned one.

This might work, if the cops did not move back, making the door slam hard onto the wall instead of one's face. The jumping mammal flew at Nick, with a small switchblade, ideal for hiding in a sleeve. The sharp surface moved fast towards the red-furred mammal with great speed, with a markhor holding it.

Nick correctly assumed that moving a bit to the left would be the best way of dealing with the attacker. Half a step and the knife hit the wall, with the markhor giving a surprised look before hitting the wall with his head.

"I fucking hate working with retards." the fox heard as a horse approached him, ready to attack

The fox moved back, acting automatically. His arms moved quickly to the point when they were perpendicular with his body, the eyes looking through iron sights, making sure that the horse would be hit... The fox pressed the trigger, sending the dart right for horse's body. Or at least it would, if the horse did not hit the gun on the side, changing the trajectory. The dart hit the old, white door. Meanwhile the hoof hit the fox in the head, prolonging his brain's reaction time. The attacker grabbed the canine and brutally threw him into the apartment.

"Nick!" the bunny cried, distracted as she witnessed the horse dealing with the fox

It was a big mistake. If she used her tranq gun the tifted deer, who literally appeared in front of her she might not have been grabbed and thrown her inside the apartment, just like the fox. The opportunity the agressors gained was very important for them. Nick knew that, as he fought with his dizziness, getting off the ground with some trouble. When he finally stood, with the rabbit falling next to him he analyzed the situation as quickly as his hurting and half-working head allowed him to.

The deer moved towards them, without the horse. The second mammal stayed on the back, trying not to further harm the markhor as he gave him a lecture about professionalism in the job. The most important thing, or person in that case was the wolf, a mammal struggling with a yak who held him tight. It was clearly seen that a small interaction and the wolf would get free.

Nick immediately exploited that, moving to the yak and hitting him in the side, right below the ribs. His grip loosened gor a moment, but it was enough. The wolf moved forward, getting free, turned around and started to hit the yak, beggining the fight. The fox, however did not have the time to look at this. He had other things to do as two mammals attacked him at the same time. He dodged horse's hoof, got away from deer's range and the counter-attacked, hitting his elbow deep into horse's liver area. The mammal bent and fell on the ground as the feeling of a train hitting his belly travelled through his nerves. This one punch easily eliminated him from probably next five or six minutes of the fight. The fox focused on the deer now, encouraged by the successful hit. He did not exaggarate his abilities, though as he knew the previous punch was pure luck, with the horse setting up completely random.

Almost anyone on his place would be defensive, so he tried to attack, surprising the deer. The agressor took two hits on the face before avoiding the thier one and counterattacking. The fox moved back, step by step, which made the deer more confident, resulting in higher attack frequency. Little did he know that fox's target was his tranq gun, laying next to the door. If he went faster the deer could find out, but the fox balanced his moving speed pefectly. He knew he had an opportunity as he stopped, feeling the door behind him. He dodged deer's punch, kicked him in the stomach and reached for the gun. As he grabbed it he loaded another dart from his belt and shot the deer.

As every tranq dart it took some time for the drug to take effect. The deer made a step forward and attempted to hit the canine. He tried three more times, with his moves getting slower and all over the lot. Finally he fell down, unconscious as the drug put him to a pleasant sleep.

Nick turned to Judy, ro see if she needed any help. His eyes widened in terror when he saw the markhor getting his knife closer and closer to her throat, in the teeth of her resistance. Fox's mind worked as fast as it could, analizing all the facts and trying to find out what would be the best course of action.

The wolf grappeled with the yak. It was obvious that the canine would win, but how many time would it take? Too long. The horse was just getting up, which eliminated some of his options. The fox could run to the markhor and try to stop him, but the horse made that option impossible. He could also try to reload the gun and tranq the markhor, but in that case the agressor would finish the job before the drug took effect.

The fox picked his only good option, taking his gun and shooting the markhor in the arm.

The mammal reacted almoat immediately, getting off the bunny and dropping the knife as he grabbed the wound. All three counscious mammals raised their paws up, certainly not desiring to take a bullet.

"Paws on the wall and don't move." the fox ordered, watching all the mammals "You too, mr. wolf. Paws in the air."

All four did that, aimed at by the fox as the bunny cuffed them.

They drove them to the station and interrogated them. Unfortunately the four agressors chose to stay silent and not cooperate at all. The fifth one, however was a pleasant surprise.

"Thank you for saving my arse back there." he said, as the duo enterred the room

"You're welcome. Anytime." the fox replied

"Now could you answer a few questions?" the rabbit asked

"Let us make a deal here. I will tell you what you want to know and you will let me go after that. Is that okay?"

"Well, I will tell you why we can't now." the fox replied, with his usual grin "It's only three words. Scott's street, 4."

They could see that the wolf got uneasy, although he tried to hide it. He probably was not trained in bluffing as well as the others or he just got really surprised.

"I... I have no idea what you're talking about!" he said, trying to act natural

"Oh, you do. And I think you have a lot to tell us." the fox replied

"How could I be there if at that time I was in the dockyard, on the other side of Zootopia?"

"How did you know we told you about the one in Tumdratown, not the one in Savanna Central?" the bunny asked, pleased by the sight of the wolf finally getting that he already lost

"Look. You don't want to go to prison and we want to find out what happened. Don't you think that we could strike a deal here?" the fox asked

The wolf sighed "Well, you'd find out anyway." he reached for his coat and placed a vial on the table, filled with a blue liquid "This is what we stored in the place. Well... The raw extract, it's not quite this." he pointed at the vial "We found out that the others were going to steal it, so we stopped them."

"Simple, huh?" the fox asked rethorically

"Why would they steal that?" Judy asked

"The extract is widely used to produce a certain drug. Our is the purest and 1% change can really make a difference, so you probably understand that now." the wolf explained

Nick did not hear his partner's next question, as he sat shocked, realizing that this one specific drug could be back.

"How's it's called?" the fox interrupted "The drug?"

The wolf looked at him fairly confused and then replied "Bellwether's fury. It's still night terror though, only renamed. Not to mention other names... Blue salamandra, Castro's hell, or the worst one, the enhanced SJ."

"Is it back in Nocturnal district?" the fox asked

"It's everywhere! There even was a trade in Rainforest with it involved. Nobody hears from the dealer nor the buyers though."

The rest of the interrogation was like Nick was absent. He wandered off with his mind, shocked by the news. He found it hard, very hard to believe. There was only one mammal who knew how to produce something like the night terror not only in Zootopia, but rather the entire east coast. And if the drug was back on the streets it could only mean one thing.

That the second most dangerous mammal in Zootopia was still alive.

That was certain. No other drug lord had enough balls, skill and resources to literally start a war with the most dangerous crime organization on the planet.

He got through the rest od the day as he was a spectator. He watched it like a movie on silver screen, as his mind wandered off, thinking about the drug lord. Then he recieved a text message.

"Well, that's not nice." he said as he and Judy, well mostly Judy were figuring out their next move

"What happened?" she asked, moving her head up, away from the papers

"My landlord. He ordered me to pay the rent now, or I am screwed." the fox explained

"Go. I will take care of this for now." the bunny replied

"Thanks." the fox replied and went out of the room

He got to his apartment in no time and immediately went to his bedroom. The fox grabbed the cardboard box, laying on the top of the wardrobe and opened it, cursing inder his breath. He placed the box on his bed and rummaged through it, looking for specific items. He placed the MP40 gas mask on the bed, along with the assault auit and radio. Then he picked the glock, the utility belt and the thinner bulletproof vest. He stopped, when his paw reached for the medallion. The memories came again, without his permission, nor willingness. He put it away and after a while he took two more things - a knife and an alluminium box, almost as large as his paw. The fox took it to the bathroom and opened it.

It was filled with fur dyes. Black, grey, white, brown and orange. The fox took the grey one and went under the shower, in order to apply it - he took a fistful of shampoo, added some dye and schmeared it all over his body.

After he did that three times he went out and looked in the mirror. The dyes worked out perfectly - even an experienced eye would hardly see he was dyed. The fox dried, put on some clothes - the most common ones he could find, hid the utility belt with the pistol attached to it and after a while he attached a knife to the belt.

 _Guess I am ready..._ he thought, entering the street

Nick turned left and walked forward until he saw stairs leading to one of the subway stations. He went down and then walked down another one. He closed his eyes and walked through frowsy corridor. He opened his eyes only when he got out of it.

The view was just like he remembered it. Rows of three-storied dirty buildings, with the paint coming off im almost every one of them. The ceilling very close to the roofs of the building and the lantrens being the only light source here. There was an artificial sun here once, but one of the previous mayors shut it down. That meant if the nuclear power plant providing electricityfor the city ever went down whole area here would be dark.

"Welcome to Nocturnal district..." the fox muttered and walked down


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Although the Phoenix hideout was not very nice-looking it provided what mammals like Rodriguez sought - a big place, hidden extraordinarily well. They found place for everything. Holding cells, vault, a small residential area and a command centre. Those were the most important for them. Plus they had a plenty space left, which they used almost instantly.

The siberian wolf walked through grey, concrete corridor, sometimes passed by someone. They rarely greeted, as in the lowest levels there was no one who would not have a job to do. This was not the place mammals went to if they had nothing to do. It was the place where they worked.

It was not the rule the wolf did not follow. As he entered the IT room everybody knew he had something to do here, so nobody bothered to greet him. Except one.

"You finally made it here." a raccoon said, getting up from his chair

"Sit." the wolf replied "I was busy. Has Igorovich finally discussed the modernization with you?"

"Nah." a short reply came - the wolf considered them to be the best ones, being short and getting straight to the point

"Fuck, he had three days and he still didn't?" the wolf asked, already knowing the answer

"Yup."

"Just to make sure. You won't be able to run everything by yourself, are you?" the wolf asked, being certain that he already knew the answer

"I'm not a hacker, I've never been one. I may have finished IT studies, however hacking is not a thing I am good at. I'm sorry Rodriguez." the racoon tried to vindicate himself

"I get it. I never really wanted you to stay in charge here. No offence, but you don't need a damn genius to start with something. And now it's the time to bring in the big guns." the wolf replied and turned around "I'll handle it, don't worry. You'll have a new guy in charge asap."

"Great. Thanks, Rodriguez." the racoon replied

The wolf went out of the room and headed to the staircase, to one specific room. One story down the stairs and a few meters through the corridor and he got to the door to conference's room connector. He opened it and went for the next one, watched by the confused guards, staying in front of him.

"Rodriguez, could you please ident-" one of them tried to stop him

"If it wasn't me you'd see that by me indentifying." the wolf replied and entered the room, despite mammals' protests

The room had a very long table im the middle and a smaller one, with some drinks and food in the corner. It was used mostly for conferences or discussions, but sometimes knife throwing contests took place there.

Right now eight mammals sat near the table and one more mammal stood on the opposite side of the room, leaning on the wall.

The wold recognized all the mammals. They knew him rather well, but neither of them had time to meet for entertaining purposes.

On the right sat: A cangoroo, known as 'ski jumper', with a pronghorn from texas, known as 'rightist', on his left and a tapir from sumatra, known as 'axe' on his right. Opposite them sat: a tahr from nepal, known as 'mountaineer', with a side-striped jackal, known as 'romell' and a jaguar known as 'kite' on his right and a panda on his left.

"Hello 'Ski jumper', 'Rightist', 'Axe' and 'Mountaineer'! Welcome 'Rommel', 'Kite' and 'Ironbark'! Haven't seen you all in some time!" the wolf greeted the mammals

The cangoroo nodded "Indeed. I could say the same, too. You are a person who isn't easily forgotten."

"Aspecially when a person like that is also a very smart mammal." the jackal added "Are you here for a specific reason? I got to know you well in the Middle East and I know you always do things if they're to benefit you in the future."

"Can't say you're wrong." the wolf agreed, approaching the mammal leaning on the wall

"I won't say I've missed you." the wolf with a stabilizer said, taking a better, less disdaining position

"There's an issue I need to solve. You're rather deeply involved." Rodriguez said fairly quiet

"Am I in trouble?" Dimitri asked, his tone becoming serious

"It depends. Come with me." Rodriguez replied, heading out of the room

As two wolves made it to the corridor they begun to talk:

"Is it something improtant?" Dimitri asked

"It will be in the future if we don't do anything now. Was there anything stopping you with modernizing the IT section?"

"Yeah. You know, this whole mess with Wallace. One mammal gets a heart attack and suddenly I have to deal with all the shit, plus figure out what was his goal. I don't want to switch immediately, it's better to slowly drift off." the disabled wolf explained

"This does explain much... Where are the papers I've sent you?"

"Probably somewhere on my desk. If you want them go there and have a look around. You can't have secrets being hidden from you anyway."

"Thanks for the info." Rodriguez said, turning around "Oh and why exactly are all of them here?" he added, changing the 180 degree turn into a full rotation

"Usually five-year discussion. Nothing you shouldn't know about."

"Damn, I totally forgot... But on the other paw you did not need me."

"That's right. And if you could excuse me I need to get back."

"Yeah. Carry on."

Both of them turned around and went to their destinations. Dimitri - to the conference room and Rodriguez to Dimitri's office.

It was not located far away, but it was a distance many would call too much. It did not matter for anyone in the Phoenix, though. Distance was not the case, hiddenness was. Plus, all the members were not supposed to be obese, nor unready. Anytime, anywhere. Long walks, like the one Rodriguez had right now were enduring and a moment to clean one's mind up, let them relax, which often helped when they thought over their decisions.

The only minus was the similarity of the walls, with the glow lamps giving the same look to all of them. If not the doors and perpendicular corridors one could easily lose any sense of timing. This happened to Rodriguez too - the wolf did not even realize he walked more than twenty minutes when he finally got to Dimitri's office. In fact he could have easily walked past them, continuing his walk and suddenly finding himself on the other side of the huge underground structure.

He opened the door, revealing a room, which could easily be described as outer office. Three desks, all of them under the wall on the right, a big amount of file cabinets scattered all around the room and a coffee machine on one of them. All three mammals sitting behind the desks hit their keyboards on the reg, creating a rythm that reminded the wolf of work spaces of big corporations, with all the mammals being like machines, constantly pressing the buttons.

"Morning, ladies." he greeted two bunnies and one racoon, walking inside the room

"Trust me, I would love to see what time it is not looking at the clock, rather on the sun." the racoon said, not looking away from the computer "When you come here and tell me it's the morning, birds sing and sun shines it does not make me happy. Aspecially without looking at the clock..."

"I did not mean to upset you in any way Samantha." the wolf defended himself "I just wanted to be polite."

"I realize, I'm sorry. Sitting in this box without good coffee does not make me nice to fellowmammals." the female racoon explained, moving to the right with her chair, to grab some documents and continue the work

"You aren't here to ralk, Rodriguez, so what do you need?" one of the bunnies asked

"I gave a file to Dimitri a while ago, four, three days ago. Do you know where it is?" the male asked, slowly walking forward

"Probably in this big mess he calls his workspace." the second bunny replied "Take a look around, there's nothing you're not supposed to know there." she added, pointing at the door to her right

The wolf nodded and headed there.

"Do you want some coffee?" the first bunny asked "This one is not that good, since we run out of the good one yesterday, but it's still coffee."

"If you could that would be very nice of you." the wolf answered, opening the door to the office

As the ladies said, it was a big mess. Although the desk was bigger than all the desks in the first room it still was covered with paper, documents, cups and pens. The wolf cursed under his breath as he started to look through the papers.

 _It's going to take soooo much time and be sooo much fun!_ He thought, picking up all the cups and placing them elsewhere. After he did that he shove half of the papers aside, looking for the layer that could be three, or four days old. It would not be as bad if he did not hate office work and anything related to it. And now he was in his own-created circe of hell, looking through a desk full of papers.

He did not want to know how many documents and files of all sorts he looked though as the bunny walked inside the room, with a plastic cup, full of black liquid.

"Looks like you're not having a good time..." she said as she noticed how nervously he looked through the papers

"Really? How did you figure this out?" the wolf asked

"Ehhh... You do not know your way aroud the papers." the bunny claimed, putting the cup on the desk "What are you looking for?"

"I gave him one paper with instructions about IT sector modernization. Names, equipment, shops, et catera, et catera." the wolf responded

"When?" she asked, coming closer to the desk

"Three, four days ago."

The bunny nodded "It should be riiiight... Here." she said and picked the document

The wolf turned his head to the right. There it was. His stamp, his signature and his favourite type of paper.

"How did you... I mean, I've looked for five minutes or so and you only take one look and you find it..." the wolf tried to say, confused by the bunny

"Experience plus knowing how Dimitri places documents from different periods of time." the bunny explained handing the document to Ridriguez

"Thanks. Would've taken a long time to do it without you." he said

"Don't mention it and have a nice day." she replied, exiting the room

The wolf grabbed the cup, hid the document in his pocket and went out of the office, entering the corridor again. Yet again, he had to move for a bit to get to where he wanted to be, but this time it was way closer. Only fice minutes and the decor changed from grey, cold concrete to warm colors and wooden floor.

Those renovations were not planned, as the hideout was not supposed to look preety. It was supposed to provide safety and often rest. However, when a simple mistake in converting square meters to square feet led to accidentally ordering way more wood than one of the higher rank Phoenix member needed instead of throwing it away and letting it rot he decided to re-decorate part of their bigger shelter. The original concept was only to make the floor wooden, but even though the boss did not support the idea his perfectionist soul took over and painting part of the walls became a nice addition to the wooden floor.

That soon became a landmark of some sort for the mammals that approached the 'heart' of their shelter. Most of the management took place there as well as the communications, assignments, etc, etc.

The wolf entered his own office, located not so far from the beggining of the new floor. He did know what to expect. His secratary, sitting on the left, a nice bureau, made from exotic wood and the door in front of him made it clear.

The wolf walked to his secretary's desk and put the document on it "Madelyn." he spoke, getting elk's attention "Could you place an order for the equipment written on this?"

The elk nodded and picked up the document "What is the priority?" she asked, reading it

"High. I need it asap, since it should be here two days ago." the wolf replied, taking a sip of the coffee

 _Geez, it's really not good..._ he thought, emptying the cup

"What about the names?" the elk asked

"Ignore them, I'll take care of it." the wolf replied, throwing the cup inside a trash bin "Remember, I need this done asap." he added, heading out of the room

"Consider it done."

Now he only had one thing to do - find a guy to replace the racoon and then the whole thing would be done. Although on the document he wrote several mammals' names only two were really to be considered.

The first was Hank Barton, a main programist in one of the corporations in Zootopia. Although he tried to cover his past Rodriguez accesed it without much contest. If he had to be honest with himself he could say it was really forecastable.

It seemed that the tiger, not being dangerous in real life, could easily destroy many lives with a minutes and a computer. He was heavily connected to annonymous, many informatic attacks and surprisingly quiet scandal, in which he managed to get almost one hundred million virtual dollars.

In many eyes it was strange that such a talented person finished his carrer so quickly. But if one knew the truth, being FBI's agent holding a gun against tiger's head they would easily understand why the tiger decided to work legally from then on.

This also made him basically unreachable for the Phoenix. While they could get him good protection he would not accept. Even though his look was very similiar to one that a stereotypical golden-collar worker he much liked going on long walks and meeing with his friends and family.

This was the main problem. Even if the Phoenix had inside mammals in the FIB, sooner or later the bureau would find out. And then they would not need much to eliminate the tiger - one mammal and a sniper rifle would easily do.

The second one was his attitude towards the organization. He had worked for them and he simply got scared, which raised Rodriguez's respect for him, as he seemed knew his place in the world.

That was why the wolf would rather choose the second option, despite how controversial it would be.

Randall Wu, a rather young weasel and a son of two Chinese immigrants was truly a master of IT and everything related to it. His skills and fame easily hid his age, making him a tidbit for many influential mammals.

He did not realize that at first, but he was extremely desirable. Lack of experience could not be replaced with his superior skills as he was paid way too less in the beggining of his career. He realized it way later, after he moved out and realized it was extremely unprofessional and stupid to use his home computer for all illegal, work and entertaiment purposes. However the damage has been done and for a long time he was associated with stupidity and lack of professionalism. Until one day came.

Crawford's fight against the Phoenix, although meant to last at least three months and throw the organization on their knees ended a few hours after it begun. Anthonny Crawford very highly underestimated them, aspecially Rodriguez, Dimitri and their group. It was a failure, not a good and well done attack.

Only one thing had been done better than anyone expected. The servers, containing most of the information the Phoenix had. The hacker broke in undetected, got what he needed and extablished at least two hundred hidden servers, with all the information on them. They could be accessed or by the mammal that made them, or by a mammal who got a special code, which provided access to one of them.

Crawford hired four hackers to do them. Three of them had been caught, with the help of Hank Barton. Only one managed to establish his part of the task, staying undetected the whole time. That continued for a long time, until he made a big mistake, doing a similiar thing with Silver Paws. The Phoenix did not wait and used the opportunity. They sent one of their best mammals to find out whether that mammal was the same person who hacked inside their system so many years ago.

It was successful, as Heinrich, the wolf assigned to the mission returned with Wu to the hideout. The surprise was big, as it seemed that the weasel would be fifteen when he hacked in the system, but all the information was true. Randall Wu was one of not many mammals that managed to get away from the Phoenix.

The problem was not his past, as the Phoenix had successfully hired many mammals that used to work for their enemies, but Wu's reluctance. Although it would not be a big problem for him to work for the Phoenix he did not want to give away servers' adresses. The Phoenix eliminated a big amount of them, but not every single one.

But after the heist in the bank and Mike getting caught he was able to make an exception.

 _Shit, I did it again._ the wolf thought as he found himself in front of the door leading to their holding cells.

He opened it, getting inside another corridor, with steel doors in regular gaps between one and another. Then he went forward, heading to cell 07. It was not far away. After he got there and opened the spyhole he realized that the mammal was not inside.

 _Or they moved him, which is highly unprobable, or he is having..._ he looked at his watch _lunch..._

The wolf went further inside, his aim being the end of the corridor. As he finally got there he spotted a dhole with a tray, just to deliver the food to the con. The wolf stopped him, with a whistle.

"Rodriguez? Here? Well, I guess I should feel honored." the dhole said, taking his paw off the handle

"Is Wu inside?" the wolf replied, ignoring the sarcasm

"Yeah, I was just to deliver some food to him, unless you want him to starve." the canine commented, fully turning to the wolf

"Give me that tray." the wolf replied, with demanding tone

"No bullshit, you want to deliver him food? YOU? Dude, I'll have so much to tell Kavinsky..." the dhole joked, handing the trace to the wolf

"Yeah, I love shit puns, aspecially mine..." the wolf replied, opening the door

The weasel already sat there on a aluminium table, with head pointed at the surface of a square table, also made from aluminium. He did not react to the wolf moving towards him, nor him placing the tray on the table.

He moved his head up after a while, probably due to wolf not leaving the room. He froze with his mouth open, unable to say anything.

When Rodriguez realized that he spoke first: "Are you going to dig in, or are you going to just sit there?" he asked

The weasel finally noticed the tray. Nothing special, but after three days of water only his stomach could eat anything. He pulled the tray towards him, took bot the fork and the knife and started to eat his food: some groats, a bit of bug ham, a mix of unidentified vegetables and a slice of bread.

The wolf sat opposite the weasel and patiently waited. After the mammal opposite him engulted his hunger he spoke, with mouth full:

"So, what is it?"

The wolf blinked "What do you mean?"

The weasel swallowed and spoke "You're not the usual guy that brings the food, plus you stayed here. So, either you wait for the toxin to work, or you want to get some information out of me."

Rodriguez chuckled "Before you understand what do I want from you you need to know something." the wolf inclined closer "You see, I divide mammals which he hold here into two categories." he said, showing three of his fingers "The first ones are the ones that are dangerous to us and need to stay contained. Locked away from everyone, slowly turning insane." wolf's voice slowly changed, into worrying, low tones "The second ones are the mammals that we need information from, or could use later, depending on the situation. It's usually mammals that have been hired and then they did not want to die for their employers."

"And the third type?" the weasel asked, putting the cutlery away

"I said two types." the wolf replied

"But you showed three fingers, pointing out that there's more, but you can't tell about them." the weasel replied

Rodriguez chuckled louder "How many of our reports have you read?" he asked

"Enough to spot some relations. The third type are the mammals that are too nosy, look too much. They are not held here often, but on some occasions they are. They are used in defferen purposes." the weasel said

The wolf grinned "I'm not going to confirm it."

"Which type of mammal am I then?" the weasel asked

"The second one, if you still had any doubts. I thought it was preety obvious by this time..." a reply came, confirming weasel's thoughts

"What do you need me for then?" he asked, leaning on the table

"Your hacking skills are... Well, extremely good. As you know, we tried to convince you to start working with us, but you never agreed to one of the terms." the wolf started to explain

A smile appeared on weasel's face "And?"

"The mammals that talked with you earlier did not understand the meaning of a well-functioning IT section. I do and I incline to leave aside you giving us servers' adresses." the wolf finished "Everything else stays the same. What we could call a trial first, then if you cooperate you will become a full-time member."

The weasel started to ponder. He knew the Phoenix well, he has run away from them for a while now and he knew that if he accepted and then betray them his chances would be even lower that zero. But on the other paw they did pay very nice and had less, if not none policy changes. Plus, if he worked well he could become a very recognizable person, with a lot of influential allies. And that was the thing he seeked more than anything else. Especially in the city like Zootopia.

He sighed and spoke "Your proposition if very generous. That makes it harder to believe in it. But, I did not look forward to spending the rest of my life in a place forgotten by everybody. I accept."

The wolf grinned and shook paws with the weasel "I don't know what will be the outcome." he said "But as long as I proclaim myslef by 'realist' my predictions are often those of a optimist. So, I think it will work out well."

* * *

The bunny sat in the middle of the living room, with her face covered in her paws. Her face was covered with tears, her eyes were swollen and red and she was very worried.

Although the first wave of emotions was over quickly the second one came as soon as the first disappeared. And it was not pleasant, by any means. First her anger and frustration changed to sorrow and dread, then a wave of panic filled her, as she fianlly realized what happened after she returned home from work.

The fox was missing and not answering any of her calls. His police suit and badge were gone too, without any trace of them, or their owner in the apartment. That made her literally mental, as she spent half of the night under cold water from the shower, with her gun and a knife from the kitchen at her side. Fortunately the fuses in her brain went off then, giving her some of the well-needed sleep.

After she woke up she knew she would not last long again, so she looked for a way to calm down. After a few options, some way more mature than the others she foud herslef on the fox's bed, sniffing in his scent. That calmed her enough to let her rational part of her mind take over and let her figure out what she was supposed to do.

First order of business was to eat breakfast, wash his scent off her and find out how to find the fox.

She quickly did it. Right then only one thing was in her mind. She thanked the heavens that she was sober. Although it was one of the methods to calm down she seriously considered she remembered her eighteenth birthday too well to have another hungover. Plus running away from the problem was not the case then.

With her mind calm and clean she started to put all the pieces together. Feelings aside, Nick could be in danger and she had to help him. She repeated his motto as it was her mantra _Don't let them see, don't let them see, don't..._

That was enough to somewhat form a wall between the rational part of her brain and her feelings.

The first thing she thought was linked with Nick's disappearance was his behaviour in the station. He was absent, like he thought about something. Just from the moment the wolf answered his questions just yesterday.

That enlighthened her. A few minutes and she figured out that she was not the person he would talk to find out about a drug. That person would be his old colleauge, from Nick's past.

Mr. Big was her only choice. She did not know where Finnick was, or had his number and ZPD's database was too general. She would never find any Nick's friend, even if she tried.

A quick dial to the shrimp and her theories got corrected. The mafioso gave her some information and Finnick's adress. This was a relief, as the fennec fox was probably the only person that could know where Nick would go. However the information Mr. Big gave her was something that made thrills go up her spine.

 _Nick... What have you got yourself into..._ she thought, hiding her phone in her pocket. The only thing that relieved her was that she knew what she was supposed to do. Find Finnick and convince him to help her. Everything else was just worrisome. Nick's past was way more complicated than she thought.

She changed her clothes to a set that would be fit for any of Zootopia's districts. Although she assumed where the fox would be she was not sure. He could be everywhere.

Fortunately, Finnick's apartment was not far away. Only a few minutes walking and she would be right at his door.

 _I can't belive I ask him for help..._ she thought, as she knocked at the door, with a 331 number on them.

She did not know when Finnick moved in here. The estate was what one could name 'half-luxurious'. A row of terraced houses, looking really good. All painted in the same way, with the walls colored sandy and the slates red.

After a few minutes with no response whatsoever she knocked again, this time louder.

"Jesus! Quiet there, I'm coming!" a deep, muffled voice came through the door, filled with anoyance and anger

The locks turned, one after another, from up to down. Then the door opened, revailing a fennec fox, with a visible headache. Judy did not need to guess whether it was from the hungover or something else as strong smell of alcohol was all around the small mammal.

"Well, I never expectoed ya to come 'ere. Guess you already knew what would be my response." the fennex fox said, closing the door

"Wait!" the bunny replied, stopping the door "Just hear me out!"

"After you took my car and my driver's licence I won't help ya." the fox growled "Now piss off before you anger me." the fennec fox slowly won the battle, moving the door closer to the locks

"It's not about me, it's about Nick! Please! I need your help!" Judy desperately replied, trying to keep fox's attention

"Forget it." he said, closing the door

After the door closed Judy slowly let go of the door and fell to her knees, her mind realizing the bleakness. The only mammal that could lep her refused. The emotions she held slowly erupted, as she began to sob, her head resting at the door. She felt the outburst, the desperation and no hope. All she could do now was wait for the fox, which she did not anticipate.

Then, the door opened, with the fox dead confused. He did not see that coming, thinking that she would easily work this out herself. The residue of his morality and empathy, bleached by his life started to cry in his mind, telling one thing: Do something!

The fennec got closer to the bunny and started to talk:

"Hey, Hopps... I-i didn't mean to... Ya know, I thought... How about we- we go inside, I don't think it- it's comfortable 'ere..." he said, trying to say it as comforting as he could best

The bunny nodded, in the gaps between her sobs. They walked in, with the fox guiding her into the living room. When they got there he gave her a tissue, which swhe immediately used.

"Nick... He-he's g-gone! I-i tried t-to call him, b-but he didn't answer..." she tried to speak

"Hopps, hold on. Calm down, then we'll talk." the fox replied "I suggest you sit on the couch." he added after a while

As the bunny calmed down, she finally got time to look around Finnick's new house. Right now she was in the living room, with the walls wood-panelled, except the one with a fireplace. That one was stone-flagged. The floor was also wooden and in the same color, which made a quite nice contrast between the walls and the furniture, which was done from light-colored materials. It was really nice there, plus the fox kept the whole place in neatness.

"Are you able to talk now?" he asked, putting some frozen food on his head

"Y-yes." the rabbit replied, breathing deeply

"Good. What exactly happened with Nick?" Finnick asked

"I don't know. H-he disappeared. Yesterday, he said his landlord had an issue with his rent. So he went out of the ZPD HQ and then... Gone." Judy explained "He hasn't even been to his apartment, I guess. He did not act strangely until the end of the day, when we questioned a wolf that got involved in the shooting in Tundratown." she said, sharing her knowledge with the fennec fox "He started to act strangely after he asked about a certain drug, with multiple names. The main ingredient was the night howler serum."

"Could you tell me some of those names?" the fox asked, clearly anxious

"Enhanced SJ, Bellwether's fury, Blue salamandra, Castro's hell and Night terror." the bunny enumerated

The fox closed his eyes, realizing the only thing those names meant. That although they tried hard those long nine years ago they failed, that they did not kill one of the most dangerous mammals in all of Zootopia.

"If 'e really went after this drug there's only one place where he could go." he spoke with a very quiet voice "Nocturnal district. One specific bar. He started there and then he went on." Finnick explained

"So you do know where to find him?" Judy's ears perked, her eyes started to shine as she felt hope coming back to her

"I do." the fox sighed "But that does not make me feel good. He went into the biggest shithole in Zootopia and then he will or goes deeper."

"How bad is his situation? Or how bad could it be?" the bunny asked

"It's Nocturnal district! He could be dead already!" the fox exclaimed "And we should not go there, but if I let you go alone he will never forgive me!"

"So, you will help?" the bunny asked

"I do not only want to, I also owe him this." the fennec fox replied, heading towards his bathroom "But if we go there we need some cover. You're well-known, plus you destroyed some really good deals in the Nocturnal district by catching Bellwether."

The fox opened a medicine cupboard and shoved everything to the side, accessing a small storeroom. He picked a washbag from there. Then he closed the storageroom and opened the toilet bag. Three bottles and two small plastic containers were inside, all unopened yet.

"Hey, Hopps come here!" he said, putting them on the sink

Judy walked inside, just to see the fox opening the container, which had a lot of contacts, all in different colors. The fox took one and put in on his eye, changing its color.

"Take those." he said, giving her two blue ones "And change your fur." he added, giving her gray fur dye "You'd look like a full color bunny."

"How do I apply this?" she asked, putting on the contacts

"Under the shower. You mix it with the shampoo. I'll give you one and a towel." the fox explained

"I heard about some that are applied just on fur, without the shampoo." the bunny replied

"Those are better, since only a special gel can wash it off. Those you talk about are often easily taken off by just water." the fennec fox patiently explained, giving her a towel and a shampoo "There's the dryer." he pointed to his left "I'll be waiting outside."

After the bunny finished, dried her fur and got out the fox led her to his van, where he gave her a thin bulletproof vest.

"Ain't it too weak?" she asked, putting it on

"Even shit protection is better than no protection whatsoever." the fox replied, checking his second phone

The bunny moved to the passenger's seat, sitting next to the fennec fox "What are you doing?" she asked

"Looks like Wilde actually contacted me." he replied, putting the phone inside his pocket "You got your gun?" he asked

Judy nodded, placing her paw on the holster, hidden under her jacket. Everything was ready. The fox, the bunny and the car. Now the thing they had to do was just to get to the district. The fox sighed and turned on the engine.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Even though Judy heard urban legends about Nocturnal district, all the stories and myths about it she did not expect it to look like this. After they finally got out of the dark tunnel and drove onto the street, between the houses it loooked quite normal to her. The light from the above, made by enormous lamps did not make everything here look natural, but if she would not pay attention she could not see anything disturbing at all. Of course some buildings were damaged, but this was not something that she had not seen while in the city.

What was very noticable though, was the atmosphere. She felt like somebody stared at her so long and hard that it would have the power to cut through her skin. She nervously looked back, to find the back of the van.

"You feel it, don't you?" the fox asked, not keeping his eyes away from the road

"I don't believe how you got used to it." she replied, stopping the urge to turn around

"I didn't. I just managed to feel the difference between someone trying to kill me and the... I don't know how to describe it..." the fox said, zoning out for a bit

The kept driving for a while, not turning anywhere, nor stopping. While they drove the bunny forced her cop mode to calm down, before she would give the fox next to her a lot of tickets for careless driving.

The reason for this was obvious. Finnick looked around a lot, but not in a visible way. His head remained still, while the eyes moved. Yet again, not in a fast, apparent way, but in a series of small moves, which allowed him to scout anything in front of him and on his sides.

He had to do that. In Nocturnal district every step could be one's last. Or the one that would be the start for a timer inevitably counting down to mammal's death. No one knew who could he walk into on the next intersection. It could be a drunkard with a knife, it could be a serial killer, it could be a courier transporting an important message for the first time, which obviously could make him exaggerate a curious look and uneasily put a bullet in somebody's head. Or the worst type of them all. A gangster whose ego was just too big and who had to prove how badass he was.

This however was not as important as what the fox looked for now. On the road only four types of cars mattered. Black SUVs, armored vehicles with MG mounted on top of them, limos and expensive sport cars. Those were the types that the fox looked for on an intersection.

"Staring! Yes, that was it!" he exclaimed out of nowhere, which made the bunny jump

"Oh. I mean, when we talked later, you know. I said that I learned to see the difference between the stare of somebody trying to kill me and then I forgot the word? I meant staring. The feeling when somebody stares at you." he explained to the bunny

She nodded, not really sure what she was supposed to answer. The fox himself realized the strangeness of the situation as he kept his mouth shut until they got to their destination.

The fox sighed with relief, parking his van in on of the parking lots. He unbuckled his seatbelt, turned the engine off and then realized it.

A black SUV stood next to him, which was not that bad. The worst thing was that it was not the only car that made him concerned. There also was another car - a large, yellow toyota, which had a big, sliver paw on the hood.

"Okay. Okay." he calmed himself down "Judy, whatever happens, we are not getting involved. They may kill each other, but we CANNOT get involved."

Judy gave him a confused look "Kill?" she asked, not really believing what she has just heard

"Okay, I might've exaggerated." the fox said "Just don't do anything, whatever happens. And I'd be great if you let me do the talking."

They went out of the car, their noses getting hit by all the smoke, pollution and fumes. Judy's nose twitched, as she tried to recognize different smells in the air. This did not work. At all. She followed the fox, as he opened the door to the bar.

A roar greeted them immediately, when they entered. It appeared that a group of lions, decided to 'dance' at one of the tables, all of them with a beer in their paws. It appeared that most of the mammals liked that, as they cheered around the table. Only some mammals were still and uninterested. A wolf, a golden retriever and a bear, sitting near the counter, a cheetah, sitting in the right corner and a panda, in the least apparent place of all.

The fox started to go through the crowd, with the bunny following him. If she had to be honest, she would never get through, or worse, got stomed by a bigger mammal, that would simply not be careful enough.

What she noticed rather easily, though was his ability to get past all of the mammals. Even though it seemed that he would easily get stomped on he manouvered through the crowd like an artist. No one managed to step, or push him, even with their eyes up.

With that the bunny went through the crowd behind him relatively easy, with only one, maybe two situations with bigger mammals stomping dangerously close.

The hard part was over when they stepped out of the crowd, densly clustered in the middle of the building. After that they moved through the rest of it, until they got to the panda.

The fox sat on one of the chairs, followed by the bunny, who sat on his right. Silence between them lasted, sometimes interrupted by others' boozy laughters, up to the point when the panda chuckled and spoke:

"Well, I did not expect to see you here, Fin! At least in some time. Aspecially after what you and your crazy friends did a week ago!"

"So, how much knows now?" the fox asked, with a slight bit of anxiety in his voice

The panda snorted "Mammals here have two major issues. First, they are often too high to notice somebody in front of them. Second, they often forget about minor details, which may not sound like a lot, but those minor details is what informators seek the most." the bear explained and grinned "But let me tell you, this disguise is brilliant. Many would just dye the fur, but changing the iris... Dude, I've never seen anything that simple and that effective."

The bunny was rather confused when she heard that. In her mind it would be way less effective then Finnick dying his fur.

It did not go unnoticed by the panda "You see, all the fennec foxes have almost the same, if not the same shade of their fur. If Fin would've dyed it he would be way more noticable than he is now. Many mammals who don't want him here won't see him and even if they do his pupils are in a different colour." the bear explained "So, what do you want Fin?"

"Wilde." the fox replied, with serious tone

The panda shrugged "I don't know what did you mean. Not only it sounds ultra gay, but also I don't know what do you mean by that."

"For fuck's sake, he has been here!" the fox exclaimed quietly "If not here then where would he find information about... You know, fight club's favourite stereoid?"

The panda slowly nodded, almost unnoticable. It was true. The fox was too smart not to notice, even if he did not know. Besides the panda himself was one of the best informators in the area. All the otherals did not matter if such a delicate matter was to be researched.

"This is a delicate subject, Fin." the panda replied, his attitude changind immediately "Wilde knew it. He came here prepared. He has taken pre-emptive measures. He is both armed and armoured. What did you do? Do you have vests abd weapons?" he asked, looking around

"I am not an idiot, P." the fox replied, very slowly "I do not come on a gunplay with a fork, I come there with a vest and a pistol, if I don't have an SMG."

"Wilde did go after the substance." the panda replied, getting even more quiet "He asked where, so I told him. But!" he added after a grin started to form on fox's muzzle "I need something back."

"They did start the purge." the fennec fox replied "They killed Terry and now they're after everybody else."

Panda's eyes shone as he heard that "I supposed that could be the case, but I did not think about that... Shit, that changes everything." he said "If they are purging that explains why Eugene explored his brain with lead..." the panda said, slowly getting lost in his thoughts

Finnick clicked his finger before the panda's eyes "I know you're poetic and shit and you wander off, but I am here to find my former stupid-ass partner." the small fox said "I need places, names, landmarks, not you over here gettin' off the Earth."

The panda nodded and leaned to both of the mammals "I steered Wilde towards three places where he could find SJ. 144a Jason's boulevard, 45 MacArthur's street and 11 Admiral street."

The bunny noted it in her notepad with her remarkable carrot pen "What is there to expect?" she asked

"From what I know they ship the drugs on the boulevard, maybe make them on MacArthur's street and the last one is a dope-house." the panda explained

The bunny gave the fox on her left a confused look "They're basically night clubs where you can do drugs." the fox explained

"Are there any dangers? Not the obvious ones." the bunny asked

"Apart from usual dumb minders you can find some smaller gangs, so called leeches, some animals from bigger gangs and maybe one or two Phoenix's inside mammals." the bear said "I highly suggest not to get caught, all the ones that want to glance are later found at a bottom of Zootopia harbour with a pair of cement shoes."

"Trust me, I know what you're talking about..." the fox replied, with a memory of unbearable pain when a one-eyed cheetah twisted his knees reversly

"Wilde probably went further, but I think you'll be able to catch him." the panda stated "Good luck."

"Could definitely use some." the small fox replied, standing up with the bunny

"Do you think we'll get him?" Judy asked, closing the door to fox's car

"I think we may have a chance." Finnick replied, putting on his seatbelt "Aspecially if we consider some things."

"What are they?" the bunny asked, as the predator started the engine

"When he looks for someone he always goes to places where he knows he would find information first." he explained, putting the car in reverse "A dope-house ain't that place. The place where they maybe make Bellwether's fury is just a prediction. So, it's the first place, the place where they ship it."

"What do you think he's done already?" she asked, her voice worrisome and her mind suggesting the darkest schemes

"I don't really think they caught him." the smaller mammal said "He's really sussed and cunnin'."

"No, I mean... If he took life from another mammal." the bunny explained

"I do hope it hasn't come to that." the fox replied, hitting the gas and driving away

It did not take long for the car to exit three mammals' field of view. The wolf took the last sip of his beer and threw it in the trash can on his right.

"Nu todga... What do we do?" a female bear on wolf's right asked

"As much as I condemn Wilde for putting his cuffs on my wrists I don't think he should be seen with us by her." a golden retriever replied, puffing on the very end of his cigarette

"Verfluchte Scheiße..." the wolf sweared "I hate when you're right Nitro. We can't allow him to get caugh red-handed."

He went left, to his black Harley-Davidson Road King and turned the engine on. Then he put on his helmet and waited for his colleauges to catch up with him, as he slowly got further away from the bar.

 _Kakov plan, Heinrich?_ the bear asked

"I'll be closer, you stay further. Also, inform Wilde and if they get lost you will give them some clues." the wolf replied, accelarating the bike

 _You don't know where they are going, do you?_ the dog asked

"They're not retarded. 144a Jason's boulevard, that's where they're headin'." the wolf replied, getting past a slow buck, who showed him a middle finger "Setz das an eigen Arsch!" the wolf resonded, also doing that

 _Chevo blyat'?_ the bear asked _What was that all about?_

"Just some retard on the street." the wolf replied, focused on the road

iiiiiiiiiiii

"We're 'ere, I guess..." the fox said, as he and the bunny stood in front of a medium-sized brick building

It did not bring any attention. Same as everywhere else. Broken bottles, dog-ends, piles and bags on trash near the walls and of course, inseparable graffiti. The walls were not anywhere near nice too. Grime, dust, excrements and sometimes even blood made them not really comfortable to look at nor to sniff anywhere near them.

And in the middle of them, like a wolf in a crowd of bunnies, was a door. An aluminium door, only with a peephole. No handle or anything to open them from the outside.

"Well, uhm... I guess we should knock if we ever want to enter..." the bunny said, breaking the silence

Although the wall with the door and the building overall were not highly noticiable in Nocturnal district the felt relative unease. There was not any sign of homelss mammals, which to an animal like Finnick was highly allarming. They were usually like rats. A symbol of safety. If they could not tell whether they would get shot or not they never went there. This place reminded the fox of that and it did not make him anywise prepared.

He did not make any move when the rabbit knocked at the door. What made him move was what happened afterwards. The door opened, apparently being open for a longer time. This made all his hair rise up on his neck and shivers go up his spine. In no time a gun appeared in his paw, aimed at the door.

The bunny looked at him with some surprise in her eyes, also pulling her gun out, with a slight delay.

The first looks of the inside were not pleasing. Nobody behind it, no signs of alive mammals inside; only overwhelming silence.

The fox moved to the door and pushed it further, revailing a long corridor. There were no doors or anything in the middle of it. Only thing that could lead them further was a door on the end of it.

The fox stepped inside after a while, with the bunny behind. It was the only way for him to get any kind of cover. He easily went through the corridor and waitied near the next door, as the rabbit got closer to him.

They opened the next door, revailing a shocking view. Judy turned around and threw up, while Finnick tried to hold his breakfast as much as he could. A skinned mammal hung upside down, with a pool of blood under it. After the fox calmed his stomach he went closer, to inspect the dead body.

It seemed to be a feline, but with his skin somewhere else the fox could not exactly tell whether it was a lion, a tiger, a cougar or any other cat. What he saw though were long and deep claw marks, which he found mostly on animal's legs and arms. What brought his attention was not them, it was their shape and place. The cuts very clearly avoided any major blood vessels, staying away from them. It could not be luck. Not only they were placed to do that, but also to bring as much pain as possibe. That was rather visible too, as the fox noticed some deeper places, like the claws stopped and dug deeper.

The fox closed his eyes, imagining the situation. He did not know if it was his imagination, stimulated by his shattered nerves, but he swore he still could hear all the cried of pain.

"Was..." he heard the bunny, pale on her face, as she approaced the corpse "Was it... Nick?"

"No." the fox replied, not really sure "The cuts are too deep, his claws are too short." he assured, probably more needing it himseld "Besides, I don't think he had any reason to do it." he said, with his voice not really that convincing

"Can... Can we just go further?" the bunny asked, looking at the next door, about three meters away from them

"Hopps... I don't think the rest of the building will look any better." the fox said "Maybe you should get home, I'll call you back if I find any-"

"No!" she replied "I am NOT leaving. I can't. What if Nick is there somewhere... Also..." she said, holding the tears

The fennec fox did not answer. He understood. He himself did not want that to be true, but he had no idea what happened there. And as good as Nick was nobody was unbeatable.

The fox moved away from the corpse and made his way to the door with the bunny. He opened it with his left paw, his pistol ready to shoot in the other. He quickly pulled them, which made sure nobody was behind them.

He went through them to see a giant hall, probably made for animals of all sizes. It did not look very preety. Walls painted grey, with the paint coming off in many places, stains and various holes throughout their surface made it preety clear.

What he did expect was what he could find there. However the scale was a different thing. Rows of counters were placed across the enormous space with a big gap in the middle and two small ones on both ends. The fox went forward, realizing the seriousness of the operation that took place there.

The planning of it did not escape his attention too. All the drugs went from the walls to the middle. They were weighted, divided, weighted again, packed, weighted yet another time, put into cardboard boxes and placed on dollies. Then all of them were transported to the next room, currently separated in front of the fox by a big metal garage door.

Not everything was okay though. More than half of the boxes, scales, drugs and packets were scattered throughout the room irregularly, with many expensive drugs on the floor, mixed with each other, dust and soil. It looked like all the mammals here escaped fast and in hurry, with the threat beating the rage of their boss.

"Can you see anything?" the bunny asked, which made the smaller mammal realize she did not have night vision in her eyes

He looked around, until he found what looked like a control panel. A long cuboid, with a bunch of buttons, five to be exact. One red, one blue, one yellow, one green and one black. The fox walked towards it, took it in his paw and sequentially, up to the point when the lights went on, revailing the mess.

The bunny looked around and said:

"Well, they sure have to had a good reason to leave all of this like this. You know how much it's worth." she assumed

"Sure as hell it's fluctuating around hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions." he replied

"Who do you think owned the place?" she asked, her cop mode activating

"Silver paws." the fox pointed at a symbol on a wall on his right "Could bet it's their main cartel base."

"Nice, the adress now..." she muttered, picking her notepad and carrot pen "One... Four... Four... A... Jasons... Boulevard..." she noted

"Whatever you're plannin' with 'em - not gonna work." the predator cut her off "This precinct won't do anything."

"How can you tell?" the bunny asked

"It's cartel's base, plus Nocturnal district. They make hundreds of thousand of dollars, if not millions. They literally control a few blocks over here. No cops who enter this place exit." the fox explained "Besides, we're here to find Nick. So let's go and find him, not write reports."

Judy grudgingly hid the notepad, knowing that he was right. Indeed if not all at least ninety percent of were corrupted to the bone, taking as many bribes as they could, leaving the citizens hopeless.

The fox moved to the door, wondering how to open it. A quick look to his left solved his problem, as he saw two buttons - one red and one green. He did not think much as he went there and pressed the green one.

The fox and the bunny heard the mechanism start with a terrible screech, which pierced Judy's head. She put her paws in her ears, trying to block herself from that awful sound.

The door slowly went down, making even more noise, which was exactly what Finnick wanted to avoid. The devil himself only knew if anyone else was inside, without any knowledge whether they would be friendly or not.

When the door made it half way up it got stuck, with the mechanism fighting with the rust and wear. The battle did not stay undecided, after the mechanism gradually went quiet, followed by a thin thread of smoke.

They both went to the other hall and realized where they got themselves into.

"Well..." the predator said, all pale on his face "I guess we know where the workers are n-" he bent down, however stopping the vomit

The hall was filled with bodies. As big as the other one, but with doors leading outside. They were meant for the trucks, which got there full of commodities. After the drugs were hid inside they went to their destinations again, which mostly were Zootopia's airport and harbour, where they would get to another places, mostly Europe.

Right now all of them were gone and the big hall was used to get all the mammals there and literally shred to pieces with large caliber ammo. Probably 12.7 mm, used by mammals whose size was relatively larger to the rifle, in order to manage the kickback.

Snall pieces of corpses were scattered across the room, with the bodies thrown to a big pile in the middle. Trails of blood across the floor were enough evidence. The pile itself was a big mess. Most of the small mammals literally blew hit by the ammo, which meant that their bodies if not mangled, torn, or absolutely destroyed were like swiss cheese, with loads of holes in each one of them.

The only reason Judy did not throw up was her empty stomach and the fact she vomited recently. It helped her body a bit, however the mind was absent. When she recalled that later she never remembered the details. Her subconsciousness did that, making her vunerable brain stay normal and preventing her from going full nuts.

The fox silently went around the pile, looking for anything that could lead them to Nick. As he searched with the bunny he did not notice her ears perking up, reacting to a sound inaudible for him.

The he felt her poking his arm "Finnick, we have to go." she whispered

The fox sighed "Hopps, we need to find out where-"

He stopped, right when he saw her face. Full of fear and worry. From what he heard and knew from Nick he found out that she has heard something.

"What was it?" he asked, nervously looking around

"I heard a growl. Probably from the place we entered." she replied moving, so that the pile covered her from anyone that would stay in the first hall

Then Finnick heard it too. Echoing from the walls. A primal sound, sending shivers up evetyone's spine. Judging from the distance the mammal would not hear them yet and they probably made their way down the long corridor.

It was not a growl he could hear everyday, when a mammal would get annoyed or angry. It was a growl that reminded mammals of those old times, when the main advantage in the world was the length of one's claws and the main source of survival strength of the legs. That kind of growl could only be heard during the night howler incident, in a small amount of illegal fight clubs or deep in Zootopia sewer system, where nobody, probably even Marines did not want to enter. And now it could be heard. Here. In one of the most high-tech cities of the world.

The fox did not hesitate. He grabbed two bin liners, got inside one and told Judy to do the same. She did not hesitate. Her fear blocked her mind in sort of a positive way, following every instruction she had. Even when the fox started to force himslef into the mass if bodies she followed him, realizing what she had done only when her view got almost completely blocked by another bunny, whose arm had been blown off by a 12.7 mm bullet.

She started to breathe faster, risking hiperventilation, however the fox next to her successfully stopped her with a nudge.

Right then she saw the mammal who made the sound. She immediately breathed slower and curled up as good as she could. The look did not bode well. It definitely was a male, most likely a feline, with light yellow fur. She could not see his head, the highest place visible was his neck. He was rather muscular, with a kevlar vest under a gray hoodie around his upper body. A black leather belt, with a massive holster and even more massive pistol inside attached to its right, held a little too big navy trousers in place. She could not see his feet, as they were hidden under a pair of black leather shoes.

"I can small you." he basically growled, with a very deep voice "Get out."

Judy stayed in place, unable to make a move. She knew only one thing and that was not to exit.

"Do I have to get you out by force?" his voice raised "Ger over here!"

She did not even move, desperatly trying to calm down her raging heart. Her breaths could not be calmer. She only hoped he would not see her.

"GET THE FUCK OUT!" the mammal yelled and pulled out his pistol

"Okay! Okay! Just... Don't shoot!" she heard right next to her, on her right to be exact

This was very unexpected. The mammal was not seen by the both of them, which meant he had hid there earlier. Even before they got there.

She felt the bodies next to her move and another mammal got out of there. It was very clumsy, as he slipped, falling to the ground.

It was a rather thin honey badger, with a camera in a plastic bag, covered in blood, which he held in his paw. It prevented the device from breaking due to wetness of blood. The same could not be same about him, as his light blue long-sleeve T-shirt, his black gilet and his beige cargo pants were stained with blood. That made her understand why she and Finnick got into the bags before shoving themselves into the pile.

"Well... I did not suppose you being here, Shawn Graham." the feline said, putting his paws into the pockets of his hoodie, hiding the pistol in the right one

"Who did you expect then?" the badger asked, his hands and voice barely shaking

It seemed like he tried not to show his fear, but it was rather clearly visible. Feline's reply was simple. A laugh. A crazy and long laugh, which pierced through mammals' skulls and made their brains scream to run. They barely stopped that, staying still as the scene in front of them continued.

"Somebody else, more qualified. Not a fucking journalist!" he said, kicking him in the face

The badger turned from being back up to being back down, as the impact broke his nose. The feline moved closer and hit him in the stomach with his leg.

"See? That's why." he said, watching as the badger held his nose "You can't do shit to protect yourself. You are not a fighter. You are a coward."

The badger jumped up and tried to hit the cat in the belly, which could get him an advantage. If only he hit the mammal.

The yellow-furred mammal grabbed the badger's paw and twisted it in innatural angle. The badger yelled with a loud snap and his arm dangling freakily. He fell to the floor afterwards, sobbing quietly. Meanwhile the feline took a cigarette and a flip lighter from his pocket, lit it and drew on the cigarette heavily, letting go a heavy gray cloud.

"Now tell me what do I do with you." the cat said, holding the cigarette between his fingers "Or no, actually you won't get to decide. I don't care what you may tell me, as I don't need to know what Rick is up to."

The bunny picked her carrot pen and hit the 'record' button.

"I'm n-not with R-rick." the badger replied between tears, holding the camera

"Who you are with then? Perry? You are in constant danger, as everyone but the Phoenix and the Prides wants to hunt you." the cat said, dragging on yet again

"They- They all joined an alliance formed against the birds." the badger replied

"And who would begin it? They all go for each other throats, looking for any possible opportunity to sink their teeth in an enemy." the cat denied

"It wasn't any of them. It was an outsider... Associated with Bellwether..." the black-furred mammal explained "For now they ship night howler pellets to everyone... And then they will tell us the rest."

"That's bullshit." the cat replied, grabbing the badger by his shirt "Nobody, NOBODY! Would join her! She was but a figurehead. She was the first phase. She was never meant to rule and succeed in tge first place. She was going to be brough down at certain point. In fact, when she took over nobody knew what to do. Thay started to figure out the plan then. But then Hopps came in." he added, extinguishing the cigerette on his bare paw

"No! Wait, no! I told you the tr-" the mammal tried to explain as he got silenced by feline's paw grabbing his troat

"Silence." the bigger predator said, lifting the badger up "You are and always would be lying. I did not believe a word of that."

With a swift move to his belt, to the side two hidden mammals did not see, he pulled a large knife out. He slowly moved it up, mostly to increase badger's fear. It worked well. The badger started to wiggle, trying to get himself out of the feline's grasp. All the moments in which the cat slightly loosened his grip, in order not to make the black-furred mammal faint, were filled with desperate gasps. The camera fell to the floor, with its lens shattering as the badger moved his healthy paw up, clawing, hitting and pulling the arm of his torturer. It did not work, only made the lust for blood in the mammal even bigger.

He put the knife before their eyes, reflecting the light from another room right into badger's eyes, toying with him, watching his fear grow, before he struck. His knife was shoved deep inside badger's bowels, whose eyes went wide, due to pain and shock as he gurgled, trying to scream. The knife went out, with the entirety of the blade and half of the feline's paw covered in a dark shade of red. The cat did that again, placing the blade even deeper, ruining half of badger's organs.

The mammal clenched his jaws with the third hit, with a sound of teeth breaking following that action. His pain in the lower body was so big that he probably would not even realize that half of his teeth shattered to pieces, if not the blood rushing into his mouth. Then the knife went out again. That perhaps was the worst part, with the feeling of the metal exiting the black-furred mammal's body, with spouts of blood flowing from his wounds.

Judy did not want to see that. The knife took some more trips coming in and out from the badger's body, but she did not watch. With her eyes closed and some quiet sobs she laid in the bag, only waiting for that nightmare to end.

Then the muffled thuds, following the cat hitting the badger stopped, with a louder thud. She opened her eyes then, with the view distorted by her tears.

The badger laid on the floor, with his belly basically opened, as his guts showed from the multiple wounds. The T-shirt and the gilet ripped apart. He bled heavily, which could only mean he did not have much time to go.

The feline knew that. He got to his knees, leaning in to the half-dead animal and grinned devilishly.

"Now you'll want to get back to the knife..." he said, tering black-furred mammal's clothes

Before the badger would even know what was about to happen the cat sunk his teeth into his body, taking a huge bite out of the journalist's mangled internal organs. He did not feel that though, only slight stings of pain from time to time. All he felt was pure numbness and inability to think straight. His eyes slowly stopped to glow, pointing that he had passed away.

The bunny and the fox did not know how much time the feline feasted on the badger's body. They did not know if it were minutes, quarters, or hours as the cat seemed to come back into his senses as he got to the liver, slowly getting up, quite surprised that he has commited something like that.

He quickly took his earlier position and face expression of a bored professional, got up and walked away, beforehand taking the camera's memory.

The fox got out after some time, as it was clear that the feline was long-gone. He pulled the bag with the bunny inside it. She was curled up there, still firmly holding her pen.

Although he wanted to give her time to pull herself together they did not have any. Even if he wanted to give himself a break too a desire to get caught with a cop in a place where the Phoenix purged did not exist. He somehow got to his van and drove to the nearest motel. He did not remember if he had shower and supper. His mind was exhausted from the events he witnessed. The only thing he remembered was the comfort he felt as his mind wandered away to a dreamless sleep.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

Judy woke up at eight. It could compete to be her personal record in her longest sleep. It would not be, if not the fact she went to sleep at seven PM. It seemed that her mind needed that sleep and coming with it rest and regeneration.

It worked. She felt good, with her emotions stable and not obscuring the rational part of her mind. She tried to go back to the day before, to see if there was any detail that might help her later. She did not find anything. What she did notice though was that the whole time she spent in the body pile was fogged in her mind, with the most unpleasant memories of her life detached from her consciousness.

She got up, expecting the sunlight to blind her. She found it odd that nothing bright hit her eyes, even with the dirty grey curtains on the side of the window. She moved the duvet away, standing on the soiled pine floor when she realized where she was.

The Nocturnal district. The birthplace of the most dangerous thugs, serial killers, murderers, rapist and criminals on the entire east coast. Underneath what was considered one of the most civilized and high-tech cities in the world.

She was expecting much more when she came there. She expected it to look like a scenery from a war movie. Mammals with weapons on every corner, hookers literally flooding the streets, regular shootouts here and there... But the only difference she felt was the atmosphere. The feeling of somebody on her back, of a breath against her neck... It made her send shivers down her spine as she experienced it the first time.

She yawned heavily and took a proper look around. She did not have much time to do that earlier, or her mind just blocked her, working in some sort of an emergency mode.

Room's design was simple. There was nothing that really brought any attention. Only two beds, one window, a wardrobe and two doors, the one on the left

Now she could see the dreadfulness of the room. The wallpeper peeled in some places under the celling, had multiple torns and stains all over it and in general was plastered croodely, making it look very bad. The furniture was not any better, being scratched in almost any way and on most of its surface. However the cherry on top were the sheets. When the bunny looked closer she found multiple small burns, which could only origin from extinguishing the cigerette. To top it all off the sheets were greasy, messy and felt like cardboard to the touch.

When she saw that she immediately looked down and let her paws slide down her fur. She was all messed up after sleeping in those conditions.

Damn. She thought. The showers probably are even worse... She thought and stopped her paw right above her underwear. The bunny cursed in her mind. Freakin' spring... Why did I have to realize my feelings for this dumb fox right before spring?

She focused, reminding herself that she did have a shower here yesterday. Although most of her memories were behind a big layer of fog the bunny made her way to the door on the left.

She entered the bathroom, possibly the cleanest place in the motel. Although she could see multiple breaks on various white tiles it still was the neatiest place she had seen im the motel so far.

The only thing that she found bad in the room was the strong smell of cigarettes inside.

 _Nothing can be perfect. At least it's clean._ She thought, entering the shower cabin.

A few minutes were enough to clean herself up, dry her fur and exit the bathroom, freshened up.

Finnick still was not back. This concerned her a little bit. She thought he would not leave her alone, at least not without instructions. With that in her mind she headed for his bed and after she found nothing the bunny opened the wardrobe.

 _Bingo!_ She thought, when she saw a post-it on the plywood. She took and read it, sitting on the nearest bed.

 _Hopps. Went on the street, to look for some information. Don't go anywhere. Fin._

She sighed and put the piece of paper away. She was not angry at him. She almost was, but it quickly went away, as she thought about it.

He was way more experienced. In both getting the intel and moving on the streets. If she was with him she most likely would slow him down. Not to mention the explanations he had to make when meeting his informators with her.

However, no matter how nicely explained it would be she still was a bit disappointed. Nocturnal district was a very dangerous place, there is no point of denying that. But it also was very interesting. The way it functioned, with all the gangs' territories and their spheres of influence interchanging with each other and the linkage between them was a topic that made many mammals spend a lot of time further examining it.

The bunny could sit there for quite some time, but then she realized how hungry she was. For a moment she thought of exiting the motel and look for a place to eat, however the note from the small predator prevented that.

She sighed, with an unpleasant thought of her sitting there, still hungry, until the fox would come back, but that image quickly went away with the door of the room opening.

The fennec fox came in, a bit zoned out. He closed the door and took a small piece of paper from his pocket.

"Where have you been?" the bunny asked curiously

"I talked with a old 'co-worker'." Finnick replied, sitting on a bed "Was not easy, but I got the information we need."

"Do you know where Nick is?"

"Still have no clue. But I know he hasn't left this area yet. Plus, I know where he was." the small predator said, looking at the note

Judy tried to look what was written on it, but the letters were too small and the paper too rumpled. It did not seem to be an adress, nor a note somebody gave to the fox. It was chaotic and unoeganized, like somebody wrote it in a hurry.

"What's that?" Judy asked, pointing at the piece of paper

"Nothing related to Wilde if that's what you have in mind." the predator responded, hiding it in his pocket

He stood up, yawning heavily "I don't know how you feel, but we should get some breakfast. The OSH probably told you that working with an empty stomach is not very good."

"They sure did." the bunny replied, following the predator as he went out of the room

The fox closed the door and took the key downstairs to the receptionist. After he paid for the night they both went outside, to Finnick's van and drove to a diner nearby.

"Where's Nick?" the bunny asked, after they sat at the table

"You remember the second place which P told us about yesterday?"

"That place, where they may produce drugs? Yeah." the bunny replied

"Turns out he went there, disguised. And then he headed somewhere 'round here. No clue where exactly, but he'd be a few blocks away."

"Are we going to this lab then?" the bunny asked

"Probab... ly..." the fox replied, with a falter as he watched three mammals entering the building

Judy tried to look at them, but the fox was faster "Stop!" he barked quietly "We're getting the hell out of here."

The rabbit opened her mouth, but the predator silenced her by placing his finger on his mouth, heading towards the cougar waitress, who just went out with their food. He whispered something to her, to which she reacted by opening her eyes wide. He gave her something, added a few inaudible words and came back to their table.

In the meanwhile the trio of cats got to the counter. Even if the bunny did not want to, she still heard what they were saying. Plus, from her place she could see what they were doing and how they looked like.

The first one was fully black, wore a brown, worn waistcoat on his dark green, longsleeve T-shirt and navy jeans. The second one, right behind him, looked basically the same, except a blue hoodie and his behaviour. He was visibly nervous and endlessly reached for his pocket, making sure that something was there. The third one had a few white spots on his fur, wore a grey jacket and brown jeans.

"Hi, John." the first one said, leaning on the counter "We're here for our money."

A koala behind the counter chuckled "Money? Your money? I don't owe you any. In fact... My brother still says you and your brothers haven't paid for all the beers in his bar. So, how do I need to interpret that?"

"Oh, you know very well what do we mean..." the third cat said "A guy was catched here recently. Dealin' one. His bag is still untouched and you have it. Well, that means you need to give us that bag back, or else Silver Paws will be your enemy. And you don't want that, do you?"

The situation looked like it was going to get worse from then on, so Judy was glad when Finnick got to ger and told it was time to go.

They both got up and walked to the exit, still hearing as the situation was getting worse and worse.

"Paws? So what? Do you know what is my warrant?" the koala said, with his face getting red "The guys that will erase you from existence, if you try anything!"

"Now, now. Calm down." the first cat said, with his tone dangerously low "You are going to give us this bag and say sorry. You do not have an upper paw here. And you will do it now."

"Go to hell." the koala replied

As soon as the fox opened the door a shot could be heard from inside the diner. Judy turned around, with her face turning white, as she expected the worst.

The second cat was bent over, pressing a wound on his hip. It could be easily seen that the koala did not cause that as he was ducking behind the counter.

Meanwhile the other cats spread out, aiming at the unexpexted help for the attacked. A racoon, who sat right to the exit took part in the row as soon as the koala lost his advantage. It was not hard to notice how bad the situation was for the three felines as everyone saw the orange scarf overlaying the medallion on his neck.

Judy would still watch as the racoon turned the cats into colanders with his SW, but fox's voice woke her up.

"Hopps, for fuck's sake do you want to get hit by the ricochet?" Finnick exclaimed as he started the engine

Judy immediately turned around and got into the car "What was that?!" she exclaimed, terrified by the situation

"I told you earlier." the fox replied "They can always get somd stupid ideas and kill each other."

"They? Who do you mean by that?" Judy asked

"Everyone is soft in the head here. This is the worst place to live in both Americas. Mammals do everything to get out." the fox replied, hitting the brakes in the last second, barely avoiding a crash with a car that drove really fast in front of them "And what did I just say?" the fox asked rhetorically

The drive to MacArthur's street did not take long. Six minutes or so and they made it, right to the plausible adress of the drug lab.

The house itself was like every other one nearby. Yellow walls, red roof tiles, white window shutters and a chestnut door made a mix that made all the houses in the neighbourhood look nice. Both of them assumed they would not have a problem living in one of those.

"Ain't it too quiet?" the fox asked, looking at the place from th van, parked across the street "And too nice?"

The rabbit gave him a fairly confused look "Why do you ask me?"

"You're the cop." the predator replied "P doesn't lie, but this place seems a bit too clean."

"Don't judge a book by its cover." the rabbit replied "You have no idea what the inside looks like."

"Let's find out then." the predator said, opening the door and jumping out of the car

Judy followed him, cathing up a second later.

"Ain't it too dangerous? Just walking in like that?" she asked, as the fox closed the car

"If they call anyone we still have at least seven minutes to get out." the fox replied, knocking at the door

He did not take too much time to did it again, as no reply came. And then he did that again, with the same results.

"Do you think they closed the door?" he asked, pressing the doorknob

The door opened, without a sound "Well, if P said the truth the owners of this house aren't very smart." the bunny said, entering the building

The emptiness of that house stroke their eyes. No furniture or decorations whatsoever, only plain walls.

"They are in the basement, or in the attic." the fox said, moving forward

He passed by the rabbit and moved to the room in front of them. Judy followed him, heading for the stairs.

"Attic, or basement?" the fox asked, waiting for her next to the stairs

"I don't know." the bunny replied

"Just give it a shot."

"Let's go to the second floor, then." she told, going for the stairs

When they made it to the second floor and looked around for a bit it was obvious that the owners lived there. Scratches on the floor, some clothes scattered around the rooms, a microwave, a table and two dirty mattresses made it clear.

The last room was the most important for them, though. When the fox opened the door, they both moved back, as the strong smell of chemicals hit their senses.

They took a while to get used to it and entered the room. It was not hard to notice that the panda told the truth. The room was big. Looked like the owners of the house destroyed one wall to get more space. The room itself had many tables scattered across it, with lab equipment laying on it. Other bits of furniture they could see was a wardrobe, a freezer and a stereo. There was also a generator, right on the middle of the room.

More noticable thing was the overall mess in the room. All the equipment was dirty, with stains, or broken, on the floor. Two of nine tables in the room were on the floor and they definitely would not be usable anymore.

After the duo went further into the room they also saw a few big, plastic boxes, filled with various drugs, which certainly would make the owners of the place spend the rest of their lives behind bars.

The owners were found in the same exact room. Both of them - a bat and a pangolin - slept under the tables, in piles of trash.

"I think they will have a terrible hungover when they wake up." the fox said, as he felt strong smell of alcohol coming from both of the animals

"Do you think Nick was here?" Judy asked, as Finnick moved the tables away

"Probably. They will tell us, if he came." the predator replied, pulling the bat from the trash "Tie that one up." he added, pointing at the pangolin

Judy nodded, picking up a roll of duct tape. Less than a minute and the pangolin would either not free himself or make a lot of noise doing so.

Meanwhile the fox took the bat to the kitchen, put him on a chair, searched him and then, after the bunny joined him he took a pot, a ladle and a cup of water, which he immediately used to pour at bat's face.

The bat immediately woke up, shaking his head, as he tried to get the water out of his nostrils. He looked around then, examining his surroundings and stopped when he saw the mammals in dront of him.

"What are you doing here?" was all he could say

"What could we be doing?" Finnick asked "We have some question we think you could answer."

The bat sighed "How convincing are your arguments?"

"I got a dull knife and you have glass and chemicals here." the fox replied

"Jesus... What could I tell you? I am only a junkie who paid a little attention at chemistry classes. I don't even know who I am working for." the bat replied

"Small gang nearby." the fox replied "Which is a pawn of anyone who pays enough."

"Look, I just make meth. Or... Whatever you tell me to make. No information that are useful."

"Have another fox come here?" Finnick ignored that comment

"Yesterday? Yeah, a grey one."

"Like three times taller than me?"

"I'd rather say two and a half, but you probably know better than me."

"What did he do? And when exactly was he here?"

"He asked for the dealers and the couriers. Where they are. About one o'clock."

"So where they were?"

"I dunno." the bat shrugged "They change their positions and come whenever they want. He was lucky yesterday, 'cause one went away just before him."

"Where?"

"I don't know! They only come and take the drugs, nothing else. Sometimes they also leave food or money, but nothing else."

"That's all. What time is it now?" the fox asked, standing up

"No idea." the bat replied

"Good." the fox replied, with his fist hitting the head of the bat

The winged animal fell on the floor, with a light thud.

"Was it necessary?" the bunny asked

"You don't like violence, do you? It was. Now he won't follow us, or contact anyone for some time." the predator explained

They both went out of the house and got in Finnick's car.

"What is the plan now?" Judy asked

"I have to refill the gas tank first. We'll figure something out after that." the predator replied

He hit the gas and made it to the petrol station. The fox refilled the tank and the bunny went to pay, after he gave her a few bills.

He waited for her in the car, ready to give the bad news. If Nick went after a dealer it meant he could be anywhere now. The fennec fox did not have the resources or time to look for his friend. It was a lost cause.

Unless...

He picked up a phone he always had in his pocket. It was very different from the one he used everyday. An old flip phone, which he would not regret losing. After opening it the fox wrote the phone number and hesitated before calling.

Was it really worth it? Just to find Nick? He knew that fox for enough time to know he could handle himself. But on the other paw if Nick looked for Sj producers handling the trouble he could be wouls be too much for anyone. If he really did that the fox knew that time waa his enemy and he had to act fast.

He got interrupted by Judy, who knocked at the window.

"Here's the rest of the money." she said, giving the fox a few notes "And there's a fast food right next to us. If you want anything let me know."

"A coffee and a burger. Any you can buy." the reply came

As she went away Finnick made his decision. He pressed the dial button and waited.

Afrer a short time someone picked up their phone.

 _Yeah?_ the fox heard a masculine voice

"It's me, Finnick. I wanted to ask you something." he said

 _Ask away._ _I'm free and bored to death now._

"Do you have any idea where somebody could go if they were looking for information about Sj?"

 _Don't. We are already working for it_ the person on the other side replied _Aren't we? R? Yeah, we are._

"Listen, it's not about looking for death, it's about Wilde and his bunny friend. I help her to find him. If I declined she would eventually get here, with all the ZPD with her. And that would not be helpful, would it?"

 _Well, if things look like that I will let you talk with the expert. R? Could you?_

 _Give me the phone. Yes? What is it?_

"Wilde disappeared two, or three days ago. His bunny partner came to me, panicking and asked for help. He looks for-"

 _Sj, I already figured that out. The only place could be a toys shop next to three star motel. You know where that is._

"How do you..."

 _It does not bother you. What does is the security of the place._ _If y_ _ou go through the front door, guns blazing you have no chances whatsoever. The moment they see you - you are dead. Those guards don't fuck around, they will shoot on sight_ _. Your only chance is to sneak up on them. This should not be very hard. The area was quiet for a while and they got fairly lazy. I suggest you use it._

"So, that os your offer? Sneak up? If they keep Sj and dealers there they would not let their guards defocus! Do I need to tell you how their main lab is secured? About infra-red sensors, MGs, snooping teams? And you say we go into their lodge, sneak around, take Wilde and go back?"

 _And I thought I lose my patience quickly... They have half, if not a quarter of their animals there. We have been hitting their hideouts from time to time. They spread their forces and reorganized them. Though nobody except me know anything about strategy they did something rather responsible, reinforcing the outposts we knew about from the bases they think we don't know about. The security there will shoot on sight, but there's less of them, they do not rest much and got lazy, since they suppose they are safe from us. You go there, get Wilde and I will help you get out._ the animal ordered

"While you say this looks easy, but I don't want to get a 12 mm bullet when I try to get in." the fox said sarcastically

 _Do you realize its cover is a bloody toys store? They have no MGs there, only some rifles and strong doors. Besides your entrance point will give you an advantage. They have a vent, which ends on the back of the store. If go go through there not only you'll get out in a hidden place, but will also have a look around. So that is it. You sneak in, find Wilde and I will help you get out. Get to work._

"Hey, wait!" Finnick said, but without any answer

The fox sighed and leaned back. This amount of information was helpful. However he knew that getting his friend out of there would be hard, even with it.

He got interrupted when Judy entered the car. She handed him a burger and a cup of coffee.

"Thanks." the fox said, unwrapping his still warm meal and took a bite

"Why are some areas quieter?" she asked, waiting for her drink to cool down a bit

"Some are protected. By animals you don't wanna mess with. And others are just too dangerous to play around. Like this petrol station. One stray bullet and you have a ticket straight to hell." the fox explained

"What will be our next move?"

"A toy factory. There's a big possibility our friend is there."

Judy nodded and put on her seatbelt. As soon as she did that the fox started the engine, taking bites of his burger from time to time.

The factory was not far away. A few minutes drive and they both watched it from the car.

From what they could tell it was very small for a building that should look like a factory. Nothing else looked suspicious to them. Brick walls, in a big need of paint and a corrugated metal sheet roof, covered with huge marks of rust.

The only entrances they saw were two metal doors, employes only and a big garage door. All the windows were closed and the glass painted with black paint, blocking any unwanted observer from taking a look inside.

"Do you have a way to get inside?" the rabbit asked

"Well..." the fox opened his mouth, with an SMS interrupting him

He picked the phone and checked it, visibly annoyed "There's a vent on the back of the building."

"Simplest ways are the best, aren't they?"

"I suppose." the fox said, getting out if the car

The bunny followed him, moving around the building. They went unnoticed and slowly made it to the back.

The predator let out a sigh when he saw the entrance. This appeared to be too easy. A big vent, which was more than enough for him to walk in being straight. The cover was there, to be honest, but as they moved closer to it the lack of screws locking it in was easily visible. The fox just pulled the cover and it let go, allowing them to infiltrate the building.

The fox came in first, making sure his pistol was ready to fire before. The inside was rather dark, but he easily could navigate through the ventilation system. The only thing he lacked was a simple map, a plan of the factory.

The fox went straight forward, until he found an exit. He scanned its surroundings and pushed it, careful enough not to let it go and fall on the ground, making unwanted noise.

He came out and looked around. It was yet another dusty, old place, with grey paint coming off the walls. He sighed, feeling even his muffled sense of aesthetics hurt. The bunny went straight after him, careful not to make any noise.

"Let's go find Wilde." the fox said, stepping out of the room and grabbing his phone

\--

 _Come on,_ _I'not here... Just go away, I'm sure you have better things to do than chcecking out the inside of a shipping container..._

He never expected this to work and thought that it did not matter, but the animal that chcecked the storage space, probably a mediocre sized gorrila, did not open up the container he was in.

Nick sighed with relief, very quietly and yet again analized his situation.

He was immobilized. He manahed to get inside and collext evidence of Sj production and storage in that building, but he was stuck. Getting in the container was the only option when the guards were coming and he was near that big metal prison.

Could it become his grave? _No, Wilde, don't think like that, it's a stupid idea. Get out of my head._ He thought, shaking his head angrily.

His chances were nit looking too good, but he had no other option than to give it a shot. If he dehydrated the situation would get way worse. He could not just sit there, in a big, red metal box and wait for an opportunity all the time.

 _Hell, I doubt I'd ever have an oportunity. Life's a bit-_

BOOOOOM!!!

An explosion shook the entire building and threw the fox on the ground. As he slowly got up he did nothing else, but thank the heavens that his gun did not shoot and blow half of his ass away.

After he got up he still knew he still would not be able to fight very good. Right now he could hear anything in front of him as well as he could hear the Big Ben ringing. This probably is not be the best comparison, though, as all he heard were bells ringing inside of his skull.

He gave himself a minute, or two and picking his pistol up, he headed towards the door of the container.

He was about to open them, but before he put his paws on them in order to push they started to move themselves, shining artificial light on his face.

The fox reacted instantly, putting the gun right in front of him, aiming at the gap that just apppeared.

And then he thanked that heavens again, for making him not shoot.

"Nick!" he heard the grey, fluffy ball he was partners with

Or was it her? As he looked closer he saw no white on her neck and as he knew very well Judy had-

His thoughts quickly disappeared when she hug him.

"Where have you been?" she asked, sobbing

"I-" he tried to explain

"Not now, they aren't gonna be distracted forever!" the smallest mammal said, appearing in the gap "We gotta move!"

It had nothing to do with bunny's feelings. She knew he was right. Acting angry and childlishly would only be bad in such kind of place. Although she wanted to keep the hug she broke it, letting go if the fox.

The trio run out of the container, into a small hall. There were five more containers and a few bedrolls nearby. But they did not search for that. They headed for the exit and the grey-painted fox led them there, as he knew where it was, because he entered the factory that way.

Now the shots outside the building were easy to hear. Nick's ear recognized an LMG and two assault rifles.

"Who did you call?" the bunny asked, as they ran through a dirty corridor

"Didn't I already tell you? The less you know the better for us both!" the fennec fox replied

"Save your breath for running, three mammals won't keep them busy for long enough!" the tallest mammal said, turning right

They entered a locker room, with all the lockers rusted and a broken, rotten wooden bench in the middle of the room.

"The exit's to the left!" Nick said, heading for old, rusted doors

He busted them open and looked around. Silence and desolation greeted him. It was safe. For now...

"Where did you park?" he asked the predator, pulling out his glock

The fennec fox looked around, trying to fins out where he was "Go forward and then to the right." he replied

Nick went forward, with his friends following him. Watching the street, which now was quiet they got halfway to the car.

And then it begun.

Nick's assumptions were correct. The attacking hid for a while, probably planning their next move, or reloading their weapons. That gave the defending the opportunity to plan a counter-attack and try to push, or even kill their enemies.

The counter-attack begun with a couple flashbangs, followed by suppressing fire. This gave the defenders an opportunity to move closer to their enemies, which would allow them to eliminate the attacking easily. It was their only option to advance through the empty street, whoch could not provide any cover whatsoever.

Or so they thought. Even with the mammal in one of the windows, supporting his colleauges with suppresing fire, there was a reply, in a form of smoke and flashbang grenades.

The tides turned instantly. Blinded and deafened the defenders could only stand as they got slaughrered by 5.56 NATO rounds. Without IR googles nobody in their situation could do anything, but surrender and hope for mercy.

Only the animal in the window survived, however he took a 7.62 mm bullet to his arm. He fell on the ground, crying in pain as he held the clean wound on his arm. None of that changed the fact that he was very lucky. Not only the bullet missed his artery by literal milimiters, also his FN minimi did not shoot his face when as it fell on the ground.

The orchestra got silent as the three mammals got to Finnick's car. He quickly got on the driver's seat and got the car ready to go when the fox and the bunny jumped on the back.

He hit the pedal instantly when he herad the door closing. Right now he had only one goal. Get the hell out of Nocturbal district.

He went through the streets like an illegal racer on speed, getting to the nearest exit in no time. Sarcasric snorts came from the back as he drove by a sign, on which read 'You are leaving Nocturnal district. Come back soon!'.

As the sun shone on their faces they felt a huge relief. All of them. Exiting the underground district always felt the same as the first time. None of them spoke anything. They just enjoyed the fact they made it out of there alive.

Finnick dropped them off in about nine minutes or so. They both went upstairs and after the door closed the bunny finally was able to let out all the feelings that accumulated in her from the moment Nick left.

She hugged him in the hallway and started to sob histerically.

"You're okay. You're okay. You're okay..." she repeated like she was in delirium

Nick hugged her back, knowing that she needed only that for this moment.

A few minutes was enough for her to calm down in his arms. When she finally stopped sobbing she spoke:

"What happened?" she asked, letting go of him

"We needed the information about the Sj, Carrots. So I went there and gathered it." he replied

"What exactly?"

"May I tell it tommorow, to the chief too? So you know, I won't have to tell it twice."

"Tommorow? I-I assumed you'd do it today..." the bunny replied, fairly confused

"We still need to wash the dye off and sleep, catch some rest." he said "Sounds good?"

"I don't have anything against it." she replied


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

"...and then we got out." the fox finished and waited for both the mammals in front of him to reply

None of them spoke immediately after he finished. They just sat there, thinking about their response. But nothing could come into their minds.

"You went on a investigation during the weekend. Off duty. This is against the rules, Wilde and you know it. Probably even before you became a police officer." the buffalo spoke, breaking the silence

"The information you gave us" the wolf said, drumming his fingers on the table, right bext to a bag the fox brought this norning "will be very helpful. Dealers, drop zones, drug labs... The whole department will profit fron this. But rules have to be obeyed. It's the only thing that differs us and the criminals."

Bogo sighed "Please, don't start this again..."

"You're right. Not here, not now." the wolf agreed "A consequence is needed, we cannot favor anyone. As I said earlier rules have to be obeyed."

"You're suspended, for a while. A week or something." Bogo decided, after a bit of silence

"One more thing before we leave chief." Judy said and put a carrot pen on the desk "I recorded an interesting conversation on that, I think you should to listen to this."

"Okay... Dismissed." the buffalo said, looking at the orange piece of plastic

The duo salluted and walked out of the office, both with different feelings. As the door closed they were already absent, their heads full of thoughts. They shared one emotion in particular. A tiny bit of grievance towards each other.

Nick did not want Judy to come after him. He feared that if he got to the nocturnal district again his past would come at him, pulling him into an inferno he could not come back from. Another reason was, of course Judy. He did not want her to know about what he had done years later, when he was under the influence of his mentor and the Phoenix. The third reason, also involving the bunny was the punishment. He wanted her to stay and avoid any at all. She, in fact was the hero of Zootopia, no matter how much she would point his contribution to the night howler case. He knew he was a cuckcoo in the nest. A fox in the ZPD, a thing destroying all the poison the elites have been pumping into mammals' heads. He was a fifth wheel for the oligarchs, which meant he could never be sure about his career.

Judy on the other paw was a little bit angry at Nick, not for him going into the district, but rather because he did not tell that to her. She expected him to trust her, to know that she would support him. She would do anything to make the world a better place. Even if it was against the rules he would have found a way to convice her with his silver tounge.

"Now for the boring part." the wolf said, sighing as he thought what had to be done now

"It's going to be pain." the buffalo agreed, taking his glasses from his pocket "The security on the main floor will be provided, but there are still roofs, guests, journalists and many other things to take care of."

"I still remember the bloody vigilante." Black said "Jones knows making mammals desperate and angry is a dangerous thing to do, shame other doesn't."

"Now the Phoenix takes care of them." Bogo replied "Both a bad and a good thing."

"An akward, yet impartial fact. Taking mammals like that is one thing, training them and giving them highly specialized weapons is another one."

"They need to be contained. The question is how."

"Still, I would rather talk with them than with Jones."

"I would rather have them all over the city than that trash of other organization all over the surface of the city. You may survive in Nocturnal district, because they want to have a clean place to retreat."

"Happytown on the other paw..." the wolf said, recalling the place that made every cop shudder if they heard it

"I know how bad it is."

The wolf sighed "How exactly did we go from organizing the security of Wolleberg's birthday to this?"

"I have no idea." the buffalo replied

"This city is a ticking bomb. Everyone wants a part of it. One spark and it explodes, like it was doused with gasoline." the predator said "Although... It doesn't seem like it." he added, reffering to the view outside the window

It was true Zootopia seemed very calm. The street just outside the ZPD confirmed it. Every animal on the street just minded their own business. Kits walking with their parents, playing up, as young ones usually did, joggers, cyclists, workers... It did not look like it could explode at any moment. The only thing which could not be considered as an everyday thing were some sewage treatment workers, currently getting out of an opened sewer hatch.

The only reason why the gangs did not fight openly between them was pretty simple. The five conference. The Phoenix's leaders, having had enough of the mess outside grabbed everyone by their traps, not allowing for any slugfests. And although they guarded it everyone was certain that it would not last. It was not a peace conference, rather a truce. Which end was coming. The other bosses were hungry for power, looking at each other with stink eye, but one thing connected them.

The hatred towards the Phoenix. If not their interference the criminal underworld would ally against them a long time ago, begining a small civil war.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The atmosphere during the duo's walk back home was incredibly tense. They both waneted to say something, something that would not end in a very polite conversation. So they were quiet, at least until they would get back home.

But as Nick put the keys in the lock and opened the door to his apartment they both calmed down and felt a little bit awkward. The upcoming talk would probably end in a hug, Judy's sobbing and Nick feeling like he acted like an ass.

When they got to the living room Judy opened her mouth, about to start talking. Her phone interrupted her though. She frowned as she answered the call.

 _Hello, is this miss Hopps?_

"Yes, who is it?"

 _I'm one of the workers who were fixing your apartment. All done, you can come back now._

"Okay, thank you."

 _Have a good day._

The beaver hung up, leaving Judy extremely upset.

"Who was it?" Nick asked

"One of the workers who were fixing the water leak in my apartment."

Nick nodded, knowing what that meant. Judy was leaving. He knew that would happen, but he pretended like he did not, preferring a sweet lie over less pleasant truth. He wanted her to stay. He wanted to convince her to stay, to become his roommate, which he assumed she would refuse. And what would he justify that? Just tell her what he felt? That would not work. And the consequences would be terrible.

He helped her pack, without any words. They both did not know why, but they prolonged it as long as they could, taking one and a half hour for it.

After that Nick drove Judy back to her apartment. She left with her ears down and a quick goodbye.

As she got to her apartment she sat on the bed and put her face in her paws.

 _Why did I just go? Why didn't I do anything? I shoul've tried at least. How could I know what he would do? How he would reply?_

Her sad thoughts were interrupted by a phone call. She quickly looked who - it were her parents.

Not in a mood to talk about her feelings sbe put on a happy face and moved her ears up. She took a deep breath and answered the call.

 _Hj Judy!_ her mom said

 _Hey Jude the dude!_

"Hi mom, hi dad! How are you both doing?"

 _We're doing great! Due to the fields cropping amazingly last fall we have full magazines, whoch means the next cropping will be great too!_

 _Honey, didn't we talk about superstitions?_

 _They're not superstitions, they're tradition dear. A thing which we have to keep, because it's important. Speaking of tradition, are you taking anyone to carrot day fastival this year, if you are coming?_

Judy was dumbfounded. All the events from the last few weeks made her forget about the biggest event happening in Bunnyburrow, in a few days. She was just about to say no, when an idea cane into her mind.

"Would it be a problem if I brought ny partner?"

 _The fox? Not at all._ her mom said _Stu?_

 _A year ago my reaction would be a tantrum, but thanks to you, bumpkin; I won't mind._

"Great!" Judy replied "So when should we come?"

 _You can even arrive tommorow, it won't be a problem._ her mother informed

 _How us your job? Caught any... Dangerous criminals?_ her dad asked, with a bit of concern in his voice

Judy sighed. Her dad was overprotective. She could take care of herself.

"Actually, I'm suspended for a while." she replied, her ears dropping a bit

 _That's... Not good..._ her dad replied, pretending to be upset about this

Judy chuckled "You're terrible at hiding your feelings, dad."

 _Stu, that wasn't nice!_

"Don't worry, I got used to it."

 _Michael, Jonathan put that down!_ her mom suddenly shouted, turning her head to the side

 _We better go, there's still much to do before the festival._ her father said, as her mother went to discipline her children

"Okay. Goodbye."

 _Bye!_

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

They broke the kiss, both gasping for air as they stared deep into each others eyes. When they were together, in each other's arms nothing else existed but them.

"This is inappropriate" the wolf said, however no anger or regret could be heard in his voice

He should have known. Diana pulled some worse tricks in the past, but he really did not expect she would take him to a round corridor just outside the hall to make out.

But if he had to be honest even if he knew he would not mind.

"Let's be inappropriate, then." she replied, looking deep into his eyes "Besides, don't tell me you don't like it."

"There's a slight difference between catching some air and making out with your soulmate." Rodriguez replied, although still no regret could be heard in his voice "But." he whispered into her ear "I loved every second of it."

They kissed again. The light in te corridor went out, the beige walls went away fron them and the world slowly disappeared. It was only them, feeling each other, expressing their love. They stayed like this until they run out of air.

"You planned this, didn't you?" the male wolf asked "You're one tricky female."

"I just missed you, Mr. Rodriguez. Is this how they call you in your 'business'?" she asked, just slightly teasing him

"I bet you have a better nickname for me." he said, moving his paws down her back "More fitting for me." he squeezed her butt, which made her gasp

"You're one naughty wolf, Danila Igorovich Sapoznikhov." she replied, moving a little closer to him

"I know you are way naughtier." Danila shoot back "And I think you'll proove it in a second."

"You'd be correct."

Danila gasped as he felt her paw shoot straight to his underpants "Diana stop, somebody might notice!" he hissed

"So what?" she teased "Is my big, bad wolf scared of this?"

"I just don't think that... This is the best place." he replied, although a part of him wanted to take this further

"Relax." she replied, pulling out the paw "We've done crazier things in the past."

She was right. They have been married for almost twenty years, their love still as strong as it was back then. This sometimes led to questionable situations, especially when her inner heat got really high, just like now.

Danila grinned "Some of them I won't forget. You gave me a lot of amazing rides."

Diana blushed. She seemed so innocent, but she was a kinky mammal on the inside, which she prooved numerous times to her husband.

"You know me. I always try to do things better each time I do then again."

"Nothing will beat the wedding night." the male replied, recalling their first time

"We still have time. And I won't stop trying." she replied, with a sugvestive smirk "You are sooo much better without your medication..."

"You are too damn naughty... I think I'll need to punish you when we get back home."

"And how would you do that?"

"Well... I have a few ideas."

"Good ones, I hope."

"You'll see. I know I won't go one better than you, but... I'll try."

"Can you give at least one hint?" she asked

"I'd love to surprise you."

"I'd rather call this teasing. You're gonna love it when we get back home..."

"Will this be like the camping trip all over again?" Danila asked, with fake concern in his voice "That would be too much. My old heart wouldn't stand that now."

Diana giggled "You're not that old. Besides I'm only two years younger than you."

"Back in my day, animals had some respect for their elders." Danila replied

"Now you're just messing with me, ain't you?" Diana asked

"I might be." Danila made an innocent face

"That would fit you well... Perhaps a little bit of craziness would complete the picture?"

"What do you have in mind?" the male asked, with interest in his voice

"A short trip to the toilet, my dear." she whispered

"I shouldn't, but I'm considering it."

"A little bit of courage?" she asked, leaning closer to him

"I'd love some."

They kissed yet again, however this time they got interrupted.

"Hey Dan, where the hell have you been?"

They broke the kiss, with minor annoyance as they turned to see who broke their mood.

They saw another arctic wolf. He was shorter than both of them and way less muscular than Danila. He resembled him a bit though.

"Do you need a big 'do not disturb' sign?" Danila asked, his voice literally dripping with sarcasm

The third wolf just shrugged "I could use one. Same as everyone else who'd have to go to the toilet. You chose the worst place to make out."

"Do you think either of us care?" Danila asked

"I guess you don't."

"You are defining your style right now, ain't you Artyom?" the female asked

"I'd rather call this lack of any style at all." Danila stated

"You're just angry because you ain't in a mood now. I know you too well." Artyom replied

A ahort laughter escaped Danila's mouth "You know nothing about me." he replied

"I have to agree on this one." Diana agreed

Artyom sighed, lowering his head "I didn't come here to tell you off."

Danila's brow rose "What was the reason then?"

"Jones caught the bait." Artyom said "I can barely believe it myself and I saw it."

"I told you it'd work." Danila replied

"Was it worth it?" Artyom asked, rising his head "Destroying her reputation? Her future life? To get that one mammal? Everybody dislikes her, if they don't hate her already. All thanks to you. Because you manipulated her, made her believe. And what will you do if she kills herself after we destroy both Jones and his crew?"

Danila was silent.

"Necessary losses, huh?" Artyom asked "How can you sleep at night..."

"I trade a life for a bunch of others' lives." Danila replied "I have several psychologists ready. I have prepared her departure to another city. She has a great chance of coming back from this."

Artyom nodded "So there still is a line between you and them." be muttered, walking away

The lovers looked at each other "How about we finish it in the house?" Danila asked

Diana sighed "Artyom ruined the plan. We weren't supposed to go back there."

Danila's brow rised, along with his smirk appearing "What did you want to do then?"

"Go home and make sweet love to you." Diana replied, blushing a little "Thought of that?"

"I know you for almost twenty two years for now and you continue to amaze me with your ideas..."

"There will be no mercy when we get back home." she assured, looking at him with a hungry gaze

"Careful there, hotshot." Danila replied "Or I might actually reconsider taking a room for just this night."

"I'd love if this happened."

"With each said word you are getting closer to it." the male informed "So better plan very carefully, because if I make up my mind there will be no turning back."

"Do it, big guy." she replied, taking the occasion "Take the room. Devour me. Show me the crazy side of yours. The savage ruthless warrior."

"I'll give you him...If you want to be at my mercy you will be."

"How about I end those plans?"

And there he was. A brother of one of his nemesis'. Not even close to being good at fighting, opposite to his brother. That brought both good and bad news. He was bad, but his sibling never sent him alone.

His appearance could trick though. He looked like a model fighter, not like a sad joke of a warrior he pretended to be.

Well-tended light gray fur, with several black spots here and there, turning white on the belly and the inner side if his arms and legs, charting the outlines of his impressive musculature was itself a thing that made many felines and perhaps other species, go crazy about him. The addons, which were his long, bushy tail, his deep blue eyes and a charming smirk only added to that. A perfect copy of his brother.

His brother though... If one looked into his eyes for long enough the charm would go away. Cold, merciless and piercing the soul, filled with crazyness. With that in mind, the smirk, warm and charming before turned into a face expression of a psychotic medieval executioner, selecting tools to play with his victim. The musculature, which earlier added to his seductiveness changed into a sign of danger. And the last thing, being the claws. A little too long and strangely shining, making them shatter the feline's reputation in a matter of seconds.

Wolf has reacted immediately. He knew the mammal with that voice. He pushed his wife behind him and pulled out his pistol, pressing the trigger when the foresight, the backsight and the mammal's head made one line.

The wolf recalled the look on snow leopard's face back in his nineties. He enjoyed the look of surprise, terror and pure panic when the feline realized how close he was to his own death.

What the wolf did not enjoy was his stupidity as even though he flipped the safety off he did not pull the hammer.

"Jack." the wolf said, the look of pure disgust and contempt on his face "What are you doing here you disgusting piece of filth?"

The feline's face expression changed immediately "Don't you fucking call me like that."

The wolf hid the gun in the holster under his jacket "Or else? I can't imagine yourself capable in a combat scenario, let alone a fist fight with someone who can cripple you with only their legs."

"And that would be?"

"Both the mammals you're looking at. Diana would kick your sorry ass back to Montana better than half your hitmammals. Hell, I'm sure Briggs would do sligtly better than her."

"Briggs is way better than her."

"I know that. What you don't know is his fighting style. He wouldn't show you his best moves. He'll do what's necessary to beat you up." the wolf snorted "It's amazing how little you know about the mammals you decide to work with, let alone your own brother."

"How about you shut the fuck up?"

"How about you mind your language when your older brother is right behind you?"

The feline turned pale, as he beard the quiet breaths, characteristic for his sibling. He could not think of what he could say, his mind rather focusing on what would happen when they were alone. He already had scars and burn marks all over his body because of mercilessness of his brother. The funny part, in a dark way was the badge on the older feline's chest, always present, proudly pinned to snow leopard's as he tried to break his younger brother, to drag him to pit of madness along with him.

"Why did you save his arse?" Gus asked the wolf, in his usual cold tone "Bits of soul crying for redemption?"

"Opposite to you I still have that chance." the wilf responded, crossing his arms kn his chest, getting his paws closer to his weapons "But it will be gone when I'll use the extra stamina your brother will have left."

Gus grinned "We seem not to be so different, but we are. I would've disciplined him, not give him hope."

"I'm not here to discuss that. In fact, I'm not here to hear anything from you at all. Do you want something other than my death?"

"Calling out one's desires is inappropriate to say the least, Sapoznikhov." Gus replied "I'm throwing you a gauntlent."

"Where's the gauntlet then? What is it going to be now? Another bunch of thugs? Attacking my property? You're making a mistake. Logically thinking. Seding them is not a good idea. Don't you really see who you are helping? What you are doing? Who you are creating?"

"I am on the opposite side. That's where I belong."

"You don't belong anywhere you psycho. You are pouring gasoline on a house. MacArthur is the one that will throw the torch. And he's not with you. He's yet another one of those fanatic prey right concil, activist, or whatever they want themselves called. You are helping him achieve what he wants."

"Which is?"

"Making more of him. Prey fanstics, convinced that killing a predator is a funny adventure. Even though not only predators will be targeted they will find a way to blame us. Want an example? Sarajevo, 1914. A prey shot a predator. Today another predator, a kaiser of glorious Deutschland is blamed. Not the one who sparked the conflict. Open your eyes."

"I don't see a correlation."

"Because you're nuts, blyat! And I'm not participating in the show you're going to make."

The leopard laughed "Oh, trust me; you will." he said, before walking away, his brother behind him "Besides." he added, stopping halfway to the hall "What did you do with Ernest? Gave him hope too?"

"He shouldn't have put his nose where it didn't belong."

Tbe snow leopard started to chuckle, which quickly turned into a mad mammal's laugh "You... You say we're different. That we are on the opposite site, that I am the psycho. But we're way more similar than you may think we are."

Danila waited until they walked away and eased up, turning to his wife "Take Artyom and go to Aurora Hills." he said

"Dan, I won't leave you alo-"

He silenced her with a kiss, not as passionate as the ones before Artyom interrupted them, but enough to silence her "Honey, this is 'business'. I'm not gonna die, but I need you safe."

She nodded, turned around and went to find the third wolf, while Danila slowly moved towards the hall, unbuttoning the top button of his jacket, granting him access to both the pistol he had attached to the left of the harness he was wearing and a knife attached to his right. Other than that he also had six magazines there, all containing fourteen bullets.

 _That plus the the ones in the pistol. Ninety nine bullets. More than enough._ he thought, pulling back the hammer and flipping the safety off.

As he was like ten meters away from the entrance shots fired. The wolf immediately stopped, his gun aiming at the bend, waiting for a hostile to appear.

 _SMG, judging by the RPMs. Probably homemade, so the vest should be good. Unlike the ribs..._

He continued to walk towards the entrance, this time way slower. Step after step, he got closer and when he was less than a meter away he stopped, hearing some footsteps getting closer to him.

Hiding the pistol into the holster and making a terrified and surprised face expression he waited, shaking his legs purposefully.

 _Three mammals, one forced to move. Probably William._

Indeed, when the mammals appeared one of them was the black wolf, with a limp eye. He walked with visible difficty in front of two thugs, both wearing ski masks and poor quality vests on their clothes.

"The fuck are you doin' 'ere?" one of them, a badger asked, moving the homemade SMG to aim at the arctic wolf

"Please, leave me alone." the wolf replied, acting like he was about to piss himself "I won't do anything stupid, just-"

 _Kick._

The thug did one stupid thing, which was taking a step forward. He was now in Danila's range, who used the advantage.

His legs immediately stopped shaking. He made a little step forward and shot his leg forward, the muscles trained every day did their job as the wolf's foot hit the thug's belly with a force that was enough to make an elephant feel the impact. The animal bent and fell on all fours, gasping for breath.

 _Right._

The second thug, an anthelope reacted with a delay, realizing what Danila just did only when the badger was on the floor. Cursing under his breath the prey moved his SMG to aim at the new opponent.

Danila did not let him. His arm blocked the gun's movement, when his forearm hit the side of it. A few shots were fired, but there was no serious damage.

 _Fist._

Now, when the wolf had the advantage he yet again fully used it, hitting the anthelope's nose with his iron fist. When the hit landed it got the job done. All the muscles in the wolf's body, mostly the giant ones on his arms immediately eliminated the anthelope with an impressive force.

 _Badger._

The mammal tried to get up and put up a fight, but the wolf did not let him. A simple left hook packed a wallop, making him fall on the floor like a bag full of potatoes. Dan was ready to hit again, but when the badger fell he knew he was unable to do anything.

 _Good job._

"Nice moves." the black wolf said "I wanted to help, but you were faster."

"Thanks. Danila Igorovich Sapoznikhov, at your service." Danila greeted

"William Black." the officer shook Danila's paw "Do you have combat training? I never saw anyone move as quickly as you."

"1st Marine Division. Deployed in Iraq in 2010." the white-furred animal replied

"A Russian in U.S. marine corps? How did that happen?"

"I was born in NYC." Danila replied "But my father insisted on a russian name."

"Yeah, that explains it."

"What happened there?" the arctic wolf asked, pointing at the entreance

"Terrorists. A few well equipped, the rest rather poorly. Took Hudson, probably wanted to execute me."

"They took George Hudson?" Danila asked, hoping to hear that they did not

"Unfortunately, yes. I tried to get him out, but it's almost top floor. Reason why they wanted me dead." Black responded, sighing

Danila sighed "Hide." he said, pulling out the pistol

Black frowned, as he saw the gun "What model is this?"

"I made it myself." the second canine replied, with visible, bit small pride

"Are you a gunsmith?"

"I'd rather call it a hobby. I have all the permits, if that's why you asked."

"That wasn't why I asked."

"Great." the arctic wolf replied, walking towards the entrance


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

"Guys, you alright back there?" the beaver asked, when he heard a few shots, coming from Kevin's SMG

No reply came. The prey frowned, approaching the entrance. No hoofsteps, no footsteps.

 _Strange, they still should be heard..._ he thought, about to peek beind the corner

A paw on his shoulder stopped him. The beaver flinched. That definitely was the cougar that commanded their group. Nobody felt safe around that feline. Something just was not right with they way he... did... Everything. What scared them the most was the crazy sparks in his eyes. The animals who had the courage to look at them told how they saw endless brutality, encricled by merciless and indifference.

"Why do you go there?" he asked

"W... What?"

"Do you doubt them? Do you think they won't achieve what I told them to do?" the bigger animal continued, extending his claws, though he probably did not know he did that "If you think like that you think it's possible to disobey my orders. DO YOU DISOBEY MY ORDERS?!" he shouted, pulling the animal back with brute force

The beaver let out a quiet cry as he flew back in, landing hard on his back. He shook his head and tried to stand up, but the cougar pressed him to the ground using his knee.

"We have here... Like... A hundred or so mammals, which are shitting themselves right now. To play hero you need to see that the ones who hold you are fucking idiots. And you are acting like an idiot." the feline pulled out a knife "Idiots are useless. Worthless. Nobody needs them. And they make everything harder. Now, are you and idiot?"

"I..."

"SAY IT!"

"I didn't mean-" the beaver tried to say, silenced by the knife on his throat

"Go on." the cougar said "Say what you wanted to say."

"I didn't think that would be disobeying the order!" the prey quickly said, with fear in his eyes

The cougar did not reply. He pulled the knife back, about to push it again, this time straight through the beaver's throat. He closed his eyes hard, expecting to feel agonizing pain in his throat in a matter of seconds, but instead he heard a laugh. A crazy laugh, which terrified him more than the entire situation.

"You-" the cougar tried to say, but kept laughing "You really think I would've done it!" he kept laughingand suddenly stopped "And I would."

The feline stood up and walked down the stairs, leaving the beaver and two other mammals in that part of the room. One of them, a jackal came to the beaver and helped him up.

"Come on, let's not make him even a bit angry." he muttered, glancing to his left, like the cougar could still be there

"He was just messing with you." the third mammal, a buffalo said

"Just messin'? Jesus." the beaver replied "I don't even imagine him angry."

"Let's go, before he finds another reason to mess with us." the jackal said, walking towards the rest of them

The hostages were ordered to move on a lower floor, grouped and aimed at. At least that was what the three mammals thought, as they walked towards the stairs.

"Hey, Jeff?" the jackal asked, just as the rest of the thugs got away from their vision "You remembered to check that Sapoznikhov guy?"

No reply came.

"Jeff?" the canine asked, turning around

It was a remarkable sight. A mammal almost a head smaller and noticeably thinner choked the buffalo, who was about to become unconscious. The jackal stood, stunned. It took him a few seconds to react.

A few seconds too much.

The wolf let the bovine go, who fell on the floor, gasping for air. Danila knew that he would not fight for at least half a minute, which gave him a lot of time to deal with the enemies left.

After a jump forward he tripped the beaver and hit the jackal's ears with both his paws open, stunning the smaller canid on the spot. Then the wolf turned to the beaver and kicked him on the side of his jaw.

A quiet crack could be heard, but that was not Danila's problem. What mattered was the beaver falling on the floor, unconscious, just like the jackal.

The wolf turned to the buffalo. The mammal was already trying to stand, but his attempts were miserable to say the least. With a sigh the wolf came closer, dodged a sad attempt of what the bovine must have imagined as a hit and stroke him, aiming for the nose.

He hit his target. Buffalo's eyes begun to water, making a serious disadvantage. The animal moved back a bit, dizzy because of the force that just hit him.

Danila used it, tripping the larger animal. The buffalo fell on the floor, with a clearly audible thud.

 _There goes the sneaky attemt._ Danila thought, choking the animal

When the buffalo stopped moving the wolf let go of his throat and stood up, scanning his surroundings.

Nothing really changed. Same beige walls, glass, lily-white chandeliers and a few tables with steamware and snacks on them. The wolf came over to one and sighed when he realized that the alcohol in the glasses was champagne.

"Probably not even good one." he muttered, moving away from the table

Just before he was about to use the stairs he closed his eyes and reimagined the lower floor. The space on the upper one was divided by walls, creating four different rooms. While not so capacious, that setting allowed for more privacy, which Oasis palm hotel guests seeked and valued. That was not a good place to keep a valuable hostage. A prime example was the room in which the wolf was now, without any cover if anyone was to assault him from the stairs.

The lower floor was even worse. Opposite to the rooms like Danila was standing in there was no corridor and big windows, making the room a big hall. However that meant nobody wrapped tight would stand there, with their head clearly visible to snipers.

That left the terrorists only one option left - the restaurant.

The floor beneath the main hall was mostly a restaurant. Two-thirds of the space, while the rest were the so called 'less' paid rooms. That was the place Danila would put Hudson.

 _Let's imagine it first._ the wolf thought _Entrance needs to be fast, probably two or three watching, if not more. The stairs are spiral, which means cover. Shitty, but still cover. Reload at the bottom, if they show their empty heads, which I'm sure they will do. Then, get to the columns and to the stairs. If there are hostages act fast and eliminate them all. Equipment and training was poor, I saw that, but Gus was with them, which means a few actually pose a threat._

Danila pulled out the pistol, unbuttoned the first button of his jacket, thus making it easier to reload and walked towards the stairs. Just a few steps in front of them he sped up and jumped on the banister, whilst his left paw prevented him from falling by bracing on a rod on the middle of the stairs.

He went downhill faster and other than anyone would expect, giving him much needed advantage. For the first ten seconds or so, he would have a few free shots.

Indeed, when he slid low enough the mammal who was just going up the stairs did not expect him there. Danila did not either, but his reflexes were way faster. A tiny move of his paw, his finger pressing the trigger and the mammal was already going back down, this time with a hole in the middle of his forehead.

Time slowed down for the wolf. His adrenal glands released a huge amount of noradrenaline into his system, allowing him to achieve inanimal things.

Realizing that the advantge was gone the wolf bounced off the railing and analyzed his surroundings.

As he expected the thugs made the hostages cover the windows. For now that was an advantage, as they were mostly facing them, not him. But he had to act fast. That was a battle of advantage and they had the numbers. So what if Danila had superior training, a graphene-carbon fibre vest and amazing reflexes if for one of his lethal shots he could get massacred by a swarm of lead?

 _Four of them in this one fifth. I'm flying towards one. At least twenty five. Make a living shield the first one, eliminate the ones behind him and then move behind the columns and deal with the others. Watch out for the tables, they can provide cover, maybe not for lead, but surely for eyes. Still, don't like those numbers..._

 _Then change them._

Time drew out like rubber. The mammal Danila was flying towards was a lion, shocked by the wolf appearing out of nowhere and shooting one of his. In a second he probably will reach out for his weapon, but he would be too slow...

 _Knife._

A kizlyar appeared in the wolf's paw. He skillfully landed in front of the lion, his knife already in the feline, as it was another living being, moving at its own accord. A moment later and the knife disappeared from the wound on lion's neck. The maned mammal put his paw on his neck, quietly sputtering blood, gushing from the wound. He did not even realize that the knife was already back inside of him, this time in his back. Danila used it to support the lion by his ribs, creating a mammal shied, yet not live for long.

 _Clear our back._

If that was possible Danila's paws were even faster if it came to pistols. Four bullets pierced the skulls of four unfortunate mammals. A waste in Danila's eyes, as he sesigned the lead horsemammals of death and the pistol to get through thick armour, but he did not want to tempt his already risky fate by making hollywood-style hocus-pocus with a glock attached to lion's belt.

 _Columns._

He knew the position was not safe at all. The lion (at that point the body, to be precise) was an illusional cover. Danila felt the bullets hit the the body and knew that if anybody had a bigger gun the bullet would easily fly through both of them.

After he tore the knife from the body he dashed to a column, only a few meters in front of him, however he barely escaped the bullets.

 _Left._

 _Still nine bullets._ he thought, cleaning the blade on his paw and putting the knife into the sheath

A quick peek, two shots, two lives. A mule and a goat.

The main problem were the hostages. While they got down stray bullets were still an issue. The more time Danila spent, the more shots fired, the more lives taken, the higher risk of somebody dead.

The second problem were the numbers. The wolf took out thirteen mammals. So what? Two were more than enough to crossfire him, to pin him in one position. And then...

The wolf had to move and he knew it. After both shots he ran out of his cover, the lives he took ensuring his safety as he made it to a table.

He turned it over as he was right in front of, casually shot another thug and ducked right behind the table.

 _Not yet._

Only a second to catch his breath and then continue moving, dodging his fate, delivered by lead.

 _Fucking Bewegungskrieg... Guderian would be proud._ he thought, taking out another animal as he manouvered between the furniture.

An opening was made. The wolf dashed forward, to a column. Hearing the table being pierced by lead he knew that if he stayed there he would be dead.

 _Not so smart of you._ he thought, as he used another window of opportunity, taking down a ram who stupidly showed his head

 _Cover._

As he made it to the column he flattened himself against it and tried to calm down.

His heartbeat roared in his ears, his paws shook - a bit, but still. He took two deep breaths and hearing someone rapidly rush his position he followed a ceazy idea that formed in his mind in matter of seconds.

As the mammal was close enough the wolf reacted. He quickly moved in front of him, yanked his SMG upwards and pressing his pistol on the tiger's chest he fired two shots, one after another.

 _Shield._

The wolf turned the feline around, locked his head in a triangle and analyzed the situation yet again.

Thirteen more animals to go. Two were rushing right behind the tiger, now approaching him, three were supposed to cover the feline, which they failed miserably to do.

The rest was slowly making their way towards him, using the tables as cover.

 _You know well what to do._

Danila quickly fired three shots at the mammals who were supposed to cover the tiger. After the third one fell the slide did not go back.

 _No more ammo. Spetsnaz style._

He dropped the gun on the ground, softening the impact with his feet and lightly kicked it, making it slide behind a table in front of him, right between the two attackers.

As both mammals rushed him he threw the tiger on the pig. The dog, a husky to be precise attacked him shortly afterwards, striking him with a knife.

Danila blocked the attack, moving his arm upwards and hitting the dog's forearm with his own. His response was quick. His paw was already on the handle of his own knife. He needed less than a second to pull it out.

However the wolf did not use it at first. With the dog's nose so unprotected he knew it would be a sin not to hit it.

A straight left hit the canine, the force of the hit makkng him take a few steps backwards, also dropling the knife.

 _Pig._

A low kick was perfect for that occasion. When the pink mammal shuffled the tiger off he immediately fell on his knees, due to an impact less than an inch away from his knee.

Another kick hit him on the side of his head, but this time with way bigger force. The animal fell on the ground unconscious.

 _Finish it._

The dog had less than five seconds to pull himself together after the hit. It was not enough. The wolf shut the pig down and now took care of the dog, with two hits being more than ennough.

First he hit the solar plexus, making the animal bend. Then, as the dog's head flew downwards he hit it with his knee.

 _Minor concussion, if you're lucky._ the wolf thought, leaping behind the table as the rest of the mammals woke up, trying to shoot him.

He made a forward roll and grabbed his pistol, flattening himself against the table. After hiding the knife he hit the magazine release. An empty mag slid out, quickly being replaced with a full one.

 _Seven more._

He stood up, moving the slide stop down. The rest of the mammals seemed to regroup, three of them being more or less in front of him, the rest on the sides.

His move was risky, but the result was exactly what he expected. Nobody supposed he would do something that crazy, so no one aimed at him.

Two more shots, two animals down. His right flank was clear. Another window of opportunity.

Moving between the tables the wolf managed to get on one of the thugs' back. Nothing could describe the look of surprise on the boar's face when a bullet painted the tablecloth behind him with his brain.

 _Right._

The wolf turned, raised his arms and shot. It was not him who did this. It was done thanks to his amazing reflexes. Thanks to them the one with a hole in his head was not him, but another wolf, a grey one.

The thrid animal, a cat did not stand a chance. As soon as he peeked from behind the table the wolf had his aim on him, quickly sending the feline to his creator.

 _Now... Where's the rest of 'em?_ he thought

The question was answered quickly. Just as the wolf looked around he spot a panda bear, who ran to the stairs leading down.

The wolf could lay his ears down and wide his eyes in realization, but he was not like this. His mind reacted immediately, as he jumped over the table and shot the ursine mid-air.

The panda bear fell down, with a little red dot on the back of its head. That ensured one thing to the wolf. No help was coming.

The wolf begun to ease up, until realization hit him. His ears laid flat on his head, his eyes widened and he started to look around.

 _WHERE'S THE THIRTEENTH ONE?_ he panicky thought, his pistol ready in his right paw

BANG

Pain.

That was all the wolf felt. Pain, spreading from his chest all over his body. His chest took all the joules from a 9 mm parabellum. Danila swayed a bit, but he stayed on his feet.

Until the badger shot again.

The wolf fell on his back. The pain was agonizing. Not the worst he experienced, but not so easy to stand. He reached for his chest and took out a metal hip flask from his inner breat pocket.

 _Lucky._

"MotherFUCKER!" the wolf exclaimed, standing up

The flask had two holes in it, with bullets still in them. The liquid inside was slowly leaking away. Cursing under his breath the wolf slid it back into the pocket.

The badger was surprised to say the least. The shots would be lethal if not for Danila's protection. Not only he had a graphene-carbon fiber vest, but also a flask on it.

Still, the impact was very powerful. The wolf was surprised his ribs were still alright. Although they could not be and he was simply not feeling it, just because of constant flow of noradrenaline into his bloodstream.

 _Kill._

He shot the badger on the neck, perfectly slicing the artery. Then he shot again, in the belly. And then again. And again. And again, until he was out of bullets.

He reacted automatically. Hit the magazine release. Slide in another mag. Pull the slide. Done.

The hostages were fine. Miraculously none of them was hit by stray bullets, nor taken as mammal shields.

The wolf took the flask and drank all the liquid it. In his eyes it would be a shame if it could go to waste.

"Is everyone alright?" he asked, looking around

Nobody answered, probably due to a temporary hearing loss. Understandable, as probably only Danila took the military grade earplugs.

The wolf sighed. Managing them was going to be a pain. He stopped them as they tried to go for the stairs leading to the lower level and ordered them to go as high as they could, also taking Black with them.

As the last one disappeared on the top of the stairs Danila started to go down the one leading to the restaurant.

This was the worst type of stairs. Wide and long, without much cover. Danila cursed under his breath as he made his way down, his weapon ready to fire. Halfway there he heard some animals approaching.

If he remembered the layout of the building correctly, which he probably did, they came from the rooms.

 _Shit. Shir, shit, shut, FUCK!_ he thought, coming down the stairs without any noise as quickly as he could

He needed cover. Right now, or he would be dead. Third's time the charm and he already had two situations in which he was close to death.

 _Left._

He listened and dashed left, flattening against the wall. Just a moment after this three mammals passed by him, obviosly going up.

 _Gun._

Danila raised his pistol and took them out. First two ones did not cause any trouble, but the third one realized how screwed be was and tried to change it, dashing for the nearest corner, only to have a bullet catch him mid-run.

Danila pulled out his knife and quickly moved it behind the corner and then back to him. He wanted to see if there was anyone, trying to provoke a shot.

Nothing.

"Only one way to find out." he muttered "Bog so mnoy..." the wolf added, moving around the corner

He expected to get his head pierced by a bullet, at least from an assault rifle. Instead he saw an empty hallway, which terrified him even more. They were waiting for him. Where? He did not know. And that was the terrifying part.

The wolf slowly walked through the corridor. As much as he wanted to believe to have time he knew he was wrong. Rodrick, or even Vincent, of he was there, loved to tease their victims becore playing with them. And he knew that was coming to an end.

Danila tried to chceck of the apartments were empty, but the doors were only unlocked by the keycard from outside.

That made the light bulb inside his head light. He knew what they were going to do and where they were. And it made him even more terrified.

He did not show it though. He still was going through the corridor, aiming his pistol at any place where an enemy's head could peek from.

A crazy plan formed in his mind as he made a few steps forward. But that was exactly what he needed right now.

* * *

"Look." the lynx said, sitting right next to the tied up wolf "Look at that bastard. Slowly walking towards his fate, unsuspecting anything. Soon the legend will be dead and I will happily watch him sleep eternally in the ground."

The screen in front of them showed the live camera footage of the hall. There was one arctic wolf, a bit bigger than average one.

"I knew he would get through the thugs. Fight his way through. Did you think so?"

The wolf did not answer. Simply because of a gag tied over his mouth.

"After he's shot I'll bring him here. And I will show you what I will do to you if you won't accept the offer." the lynx stood up and yawned "I hope you'll refuse. Haven't tortured in a while and practice makes gou better at things, doesn't it?" he turned to the wolf and smiled "I'm sure she'll enjoy watching."

Hudson closed his eyes. Losing it was the worst thing he could do. That was the feline's goal.

He had to face it - the Phoenix used him. They swore they would be able to help him. To protect him from the animals in power. And now... They failed. Of he resigns or he and his girlfriend die.

"Oh yes, it begins!" another feline, a cougar giggled like a little girl

The lynx looked at him with seriousness "You shouldn't be excited yet."

The cougar looked at him "Why?"

The door next to the wolf opened and a jaguar with a shotgun rushed the wolf. Both felines waited to see him shoot, blowing the wolf's guts away...

With amazing speed the wolf pushed the shotgun to the side, whipped it the tiger's grip and hit him in the face with the stock.

The feline took a few steps backwards, dizzy because of the hit.

The wolf did not stop there. He dashed behind the tiger, pulled his neck towards him with his arm and pressing the gun to the feline's skull he made a new hole in his head.

The lynx, as calm as always reached for his earpiece. He pressed a small button on it and said:

"Assault."

A few more doors opened, without the sound, as there were no speakers. Nine animals: an antelope, a yak, a warthog, a boar, a bear, two cats, a porcupine and a dog entered the hall, all of them wearing military grade vest and wielding military grade weapons.

The wolf reacted immediately. Four animals on his left, two on his right, three in front of him. He aimed left and with two shots he took the boar and the dog down.

He reacted extremely fast, in less than two seconds. He took two steps backwards, heading into the room. With one easy shot he took down the warthog in front od him, who dropped his AA-12 after a bullet pierced his head.

Two series tried to bring him down, but one mostly hit the tiger and the second one missed by millimetres. The wolf responded with one shot to his right, taking down the cat who almost got him.

He nearly dodged another storm of lead as all the mammals fired their weapons at him. The wall lasted. Fortunately it was thick enough.

Still holding the tiger the wolf peeked as soon as the fire stopped, taking three another lives. The antelope fell on the floor, holding a wound on his chest, blood spouting from the hole in his body. The yak was right next to him, leaning against the wall, with a shocked face expression on his face, along with a hole right between his eyes. Finally the porcupine, who first got shot in the foot, a bullet to the head finishing the job as he fell on the floor.

The remaining mammals just his behind the walls, watching of the wolf peeks. They had no idea what they should do. The canine just took out seven animals, without any difficulty.

The lynx frowned. There were two options. Either they were afraid of the wolf more than they were of him or he paid them too much.

"Go." he said through the radio

The bear sighed and begun to approach the entrance, along with the cats. As they were halfway there they heard multiple footsteps behind them.

 _Help. Yes. Fuck yes._ the bear thought, ready to blow the wolf's head off

As he was like two, or three steps away from the door the wolf jumped out and hurled the body at them. The bear pressed the trigger, missing terribly, with the cloud of lead flying by the wolf's side.

The lynx sighed as he watched the wolf shoot both cats in the head and the bear in the gut as he got to him.

Closing his eyes he turned around. The result of that fight was known since the bear missed. Rodriguez was too good. None of the animals who were to fight with him was good enough. Hell, there was nobody in the very building.

"That's why." he said to the cougar

"I'll take care of it." the cougar said, flipping his rifle's safety off

"No." the lynx replied, opening his eyes

He looked around the room. Excluding him, the cougar and the wolf there were four other mammals, a rhino, a buffalo and two otters.

"You three hold him here." he said, pointing at the otters and the buffalo "The rest come with me."

He went out of the room, using the second exit. The rhino barely fit, but he managed. They went to the upper floor and as soon as they got there they heards shots coming from the room they just left.

* * *

Danila looked around the room with the pistol following the movement of his eyes. The corpse of a buffalo and two unconscious otters laid before him, just in front of a wolf tied up to a chair.

When he ensured the room was clear he blew the smoke coming from the barrel and approached his fellow canine.

"Crazy banquet, huh?" he asked, removing the gag

"Is she alright?" George asked, with worry in his eyes

"I haven't seen her, but as bad as he is, Vincent doesn't hurt females." Danila replied, cutting the wolf free "I really wanted to use it more, you know?" he said, hiding the knife "I rely on firearms too much."

"Vincent?" Hudson asked, rubbing his wrists

"The lynx. I guess he was in charge?" the wolf asked, leaning on the doorframe

"It seemed so."

"Where did he go?"

"I think there was a second exit. I don't know, it was behind me."

Danila stormed out of the room and ran through the corridor, covered with bodies. He could not allow the lynx to escape.

He got on the upper floor, jumping over a few steps while on the stairs, just to see the lynx in a black costume and a parachute on his back. The feline gaved him a wave and jumped through the open window.

Danila dashed forward, straightening his arm as he aimed for lynx's head. One shot and he would end it before it even begun...

He barely dodged the rhino. The mass of meat almost ran into him, which would result in a bunch of broken bones and, if Danila was unfortunate enough also a broken spine.

The wolf made a forward roll and turned to the bigger animal. His pistol would easily pierce his enemy's skull. The problem was the distance. The rhino was already running at him again. His momentum was more than enough to kill the wolf, even if he managed to kill the rhino.

Danila dodged the prey yet again, this time way more agile. He just had to do that until the rhino would fail to stop. Easy kill then.

Another dodge. The canine had to be careful. The bigger animal got pissed, which increased the number and ferocity of the attacks, but also the possibily of a mistake.

When the rhino tried to ram the wolf yet again he decided to hit the predator, fiving him an opportunity to kill. As the wolf moved away from him, flattening himself against the column the rhino shot his arm forward...

A second later he was mid-air, falling on his face. The impact was so powerful it made him fall unconscious, also breaking the ceramic floor in a few places.

Danila looked at the fallen mammal angrily and made his way to the open window. He stared into the darkness, trying to find the lynx, bit he failed to do so. It was too dark.

"Yebana slyukha." he cursed, spitting on the floor

* * *

"He did it all himself?" Bogo asked, looking at the arctic wolf with disbelief

He was just outside the building, next to one of the ambulances. Space nearby was filled with police crusiers and ambulances, all the officers ready to take the depositions and the paramedics ready to take care of any of the wounded animals.

The police was called as soon as shots fired, but the situation was already dealt with when they arrived.

William nodded, holding an ice bag on his limp eye "I've got to see the footage. But his speed was incredible. Even for a marine."

"He's a marine?"

"If he tells the truth. I'll do some research on him." Black stated

"Why?"

"He could be a dangerous individual."

Bogo nodded, watching as the arctic wolf lit a cigar "I'll take care of his deposition."

He wandered off, called by one of his officers. William did not watch him, as be pulled his phone, ready to call his wife. It did not matter, that they could get divorced soon, she should at least know he is alright.

He sighed as the former hostages went out of the building, complaining about their treatment and the security of the event. The loudest of them, a ram, Wolleberg in person walked in front of them, saying something about a connection between the ZPD getting too much money and not doing their jobs.

Black sighed. If only the ram could shut up...

The wolf should really watch out what he wished.

A shot, coming from one of the buildings echoed through the night. Black raised his head, trying to find out where it came from. Screaming coming from Wollebergs location distraced him for a second, he glanced there, only to witness a horrific sight.

Wolleberg's half-headed body laid on the floor, with a puddle of what probably was the otber half of his head behind him.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

"Good morning Bogo."

The black wolf greeted the buffalo, closing the door to the chief's office.

The buffalo looked at him with tired eyes.

"Good..." he looked outside the window "Morning William. Where have you been?"

The wolf walked to towards the bigger animal.

"Searching for some important information." the wolf replied and placed a leather bag on bovine's desk

Bogo frowned as he saw it.

"Don't worry." the wolf said "Synthetic. Like every other, we're far beyond that." William explained, sitting on a chair opposite the buffalo

"It's not because of that." Bogo replied, taking a sip of his coffee "I was just wondering what is inside."

"Have you already talked with that Saopznikhov guy?" Black asked, opening the bag

"Yeah, he seems like a nice guy." Bogo replied, leaning on the chair "Have you got anything on him there? Because our database is clear, there's nothing about him, like he never existed."

The wolf took out several files out of the bag "You see" he muttered, searching for something "I actually found some information about him. There it is." he said, pulling out three folders

All of them were made out of grey cardboard and held together with a rather short thread. Two of them were almost full, barely losing with the threat and some papers and photos visible there and there. The third one was very thin on yhe other paw, probably almost empty.

The wolf gave the thinnest one to the buffalo and put both other folders in front of him, drumming his fingers on the wooden desk.

"Not much." the bovine asked, holding the faded paper in his hoofs

"Yet you have even less in your database. You don't need to read this, I'll capsule it to you." the wolf said as the buffalo opened the folder

"Oh boy, it really ain't much. He knows how to hide." Bogo said as he saw the contents of the folder

Only a few sheets of paper, even less photos and a big amounts of post-its, filled with notes, everywhere. The buffalo put on his glasses and begun to read.

"Danila ain't a mammal who just shows his face around. The only photos of him he actually wanted to take are from his marriage and births of his kits." the wolf explained, leaning on his chair

"He has children?" the buffalo asked, moving his look from the folder to the wolf

"Five, if I recall correctly. Two sons and three daughters."

"Five?!" the buffalo exclaimed with surprise

Families bigger than typical for eastern states 2 + 2 model were really uncommon in Zootopia. Only the bunnies broke that rule, but only because the size of their litter. For them one usually was enough.

But five kits for a wolf... It was a fairly uncommon sight, even in the rural parts of the world, let alone their country. That one fact alone told them much about the wolf and his marriage.

"I barely can believe it myself chief." Black replied "And it should be harder for you, since you do not know wolfish culture."

"He is an unusual individual." Bogo muttered, turning his head "Anything else?"

"He basically came out of nowhere very well trained. Nobody knows what he's done for most of his life, he disappears very often and even when animals know where he is what he does remains a mystery. As you said, it looks like he knows how to hide."

Bogo nodded "I guess that's not all."

"You'd be correct. Take a look at that one." the canine handed another file to the buffalo

Bogo took the next file and opened it. It was filled with sheets of paper, post-its, but lack of photos. He could clearly see that it was overfilled.

"Who is this one about?" Bogo asked, putting the thinner file away

"Mostly information about an animal called Rodriguez." William explained "You probably have heard about him, haven't you?"

"Not much. You?" the buffalo replied

"Maybe even less. While I was the chief he was active and no criminal was eager to talk much about him. Only things I heard were rumors and legends, told occasionally, half-arsed and too short to draw any conclusions out of them." the Black wolf said

"If I was searching for dangerous animals I'd rather go for Baba Yaga." Bogo stated, browsing through the notes and sipping his coffee

"Right now Rodriguez is more important. Baba Yaga haven't shown themselves in years and from what I heard Rodriguez is back." the black wolf said "Besides, I doubt any of us would stand a chance against him."

"I agree on that one." the buffalo nodded, studying the file "You have any leads on his identity? Rodriguez's, I mean."

"Well, according to my son he is Igorovich."

Bogo frowned "Do you have any proof?"

"You actually consider it a valid option?" the former chief asked, surprised a little

"Why wouldn't it be? Both of them fight well, their sepcies and age matches... The only thing that is quite ruining that theory is the fact Igorovich has too much to lose."

"Like what?" the wolf asked "His wife is safe. His kits too. He doesn't care about the money and even if he did he should have at least ten fake bank accounts. At least that's what I would do."

"What about the twin theory?" Bogo asked

"You know my opionion on it." William replied "Too much coincidences, the camera recordings of Rodriguez are blurry and when they are not the one of Danila are. Besides did you notice that every single witness is not truly reliable? Every single one of them could easily be paid to tell what Sapoznikov wants."

"So what you want me to believe is that Sapoznikhov runs the Phoenix?" the buffalo asked

"Well yes... And no. Consider it a valid option, but not a fact."

"Your son would explain it better..." the buffalo sighed "No offense."

"None taken. I knoe he would. Who do you think I got those from?" the wolf replied, pointing at the folders

The answer made Bogo very surprised to say the least.

"Why didn't you bring him here, then?" the bovine asked, with his surprisal easily heard

"When I got to his house he wasn't there. I have keys though, so I took the files and left. I don't know where he is." the lupine explained

"Yet you are not afraid?"

"He often does that" the wolf replied "Just disappears to come back again, after a few days. If I was worried all the time, just as Scarlet is, I wouldn't sleep at night. I take it easy as soon as he comes back and start worrying if he ain't back in a week."

"Black, Ernest was hired by one of our arestees. He said he would go and grab one file, but he did not contact us since then." the buffalo replied

The wolf's eyes widened along with his ears laying down on his head. If that was the case then his son could be in trouble. Even if he would go and pick a lead, rather than get the file, which he probably would not do, he would at least have called.

The wolf hardly ever freaked out. He could stare down a savage predator without flinching, run into an HMG fire cool as a cucumber or withstand incredible mental pressure.

But now he was about to do that. One assumtion, some suspicions and he would shit his pants.

"When?" he asked, barely keeping the trembling in his voice

"A few days ago." the bovine replied, a little concerned by the behaviour of his friend

The black wolf started up and ran out of the office, pulling out his phone as he ran towards his car. His only concern now was Ernest. He could not care about the Phoenix, or any other crime bosses. The only one that mattered was his son.

* * *

"Quit it mom, I'm fine." the black wolf said, slightly annoyed by his mother's behaviour

Yet he easily understood it. Seeing your son beaten half to death and wrapped in bloodied bandages is not something you see every day and would easily make a loving mother go crazy.

"Ernest... Oh god, what did they do to you?" his mother sobbed, holding him in her arms

She made it here as soon as she got the message he was in the hospital. His mother stayed there for almost all free time she had, waiting for him to wake up after the operation.

"Are the others alright?" Ernest asked

He was sure two others made it out alive. A small amount of survivors, but did they really have a chance? He doubted that. Not in those circumstances.

"The roe is alright, same as the cat." a horse said, entering the room

He obviously was a doctor. A stethoscope on his neck made it clear.

"And you are?" the black wolf asked

"My name is doctor Preston. I fixed you after the cops found you." the doctor replied, standing at the side of the bed

"Thanks doc." Eenest said

"Don't mention it." the horse replied and pulled out a clipboard "Your father is coming, should be here in a few minutes."

He clicked his pen and begun to write something.

"Will he be alright doctor?" the she-wolf asked, with worry in her voice

This was the first time this serious. Ernest has had been hurt earlier, but no broken arm, bullet wound or broken ribs could prepare her for that. For a phone from a hospital, with the surgeons unsure if her son would be alright.

"There were no that serious wounds, he was transported here fast and he is rather young, so he should be alright. I've seen weaker animals healing much worse damage." the horse replied, glancing at the ECG display

"How much was I beaten?" Ernest asked

Facing a half-savage animal was no walk in a park. He would have lost, if not for the animal he fought, who let him go.

"Pretty bad. A few broken ribs, minor contraction and claw wounds. You'll have a few badass scars though." the horse smiled

"Yet you said he's alright?" the she-wolf said

"He is. Opposite to the moose in the next room his life ain't in danger." the doctor replied, with a professional voice "Given proper time and treatment he'll be walking out of here soon, while Mr. Houston needs a few more months."

"So he did survive? Jesus..." Ernest sighed, closing his eyes

Only when animals are about to die they show their true self. Their true side, uninfluenced by their emotions, their common sense. What they really are. And Freddy Robbins, a quite known lawyer did exactly that when he was locked with Ernest and eight another animals. He turned into a monster, caring only about himself and nobody else. He grievously harmed another captive animal, thinking that a fox's life, especially a criminal did not matter. The canine died in Ernest's arms, crying about his daughter, repeating how he just wanted to go back to her.

And he did not stop there. As they were about to finish the lawyer knew that he had to leave no witnesses. He tried to kill the remaining mammals. The roe and the cat barely fled. The kudu and the tiger were not as lucky. Ernest almost died too, but the moose forgot that he was not the hunter there.

"Who did that to you?" the doctor got him out of his thoughts

"No offense, but I think you should leave this to the cops." the wolf replied

"So it's like that... Okay..." the doctor muttered, noting something on a sheet of paper "Yeah, you'll be fine. I have other patients to take care of, so I'll be leaving now."

The doctor left the room, closing the door as he walked out.

"Ernest, you have to watch out!" the she-wolf said "Look, my friend Sheila has a job offer, in her store, I think you could go and-"

"No mom, I'm fine! Robert may get even worse, he is a cop after all!" Ernest cut in

"Your brother is another story." his nother replied, with her usual know-it-all look

"How is he different?" the younger wolf asked

"He is not in a hospital, Ernie! You need another job, a job that will keep you safe." she stated, using the nickname he did not like

"Mom, I'm alright! I can handle myself." he replied, a bit sharper than usual

"You were beaten half-dead son!" his mother protested

"You're right mom. But I survived." he said, thinking his point was decisive

"Your father has bad influence on you. It's not about survival, it's about you not getting into trouble!"

"Mom, don't bring dad into this." he closed his eyes

"If not him, you wouldn't have been here!" she continued

"If not him I would be a police officer." Ernest replied

"Or running a business. If you put your fire somewhere else you would have way better life."

"I do what I like mom."

"Yet you're not safe! I don't want to bury my child!" his mother said, almost breaking into tears

Ernest hissed, as he sat on the bed and reached to hug his mom.

"Don't worry mum." he whispered "I'll be alright."

The door opened. Both wolves turned their heads towards them, only to see William walk in. As he spot his son he ran towards him and gave him a strong hug.

"Oh god, you're okay. Thank god, you're okay."

Ernest hugged him back and the trio remained like that for a while until they let go.

"Ernie, what happened?" the male wolf asked, sitting on a chair

"I'm fine dad. Nothing life-threatening. A few broken bones and cuts, plus someone hit my head a bit too strong, but I'll be fine." Ernest said, knowing that his father would not act like his mother did

William sighed with relief. He was ready for the worst.

"Who did this?" he asked "And why?"

Ernest laid down on the bed "Well, I guess I could tell you...

* * *

Ernest was never an animal that would mess with someone on purpose. Especially with someone as big and influential as the Phoenix. But how could he know that they were the ones behind the jewellery store?

They got him when he was calling someone to get information. He should have known they bugged his phone along time ago.

And then darkness. Him being alone with his thoughts. He wondered if he was dead, but then he woke up.

He thought that Baba Yaga kidnapping him would he the scariest experience of his life, but he was dead wrong. When he was awake in a round room, its walls made out of metal, the floor covered with sand and a big spotlight illuminating the whole thing he knew where he was.

He tried to get free, to break the chains holding him to a flat metal sheet, but he lacked the strength to do it. The chains were too thick, almost like his fingers.

After that he tried to cry for help. It was then when he realized his snout was tied up, holding a stick in his mouth and preventing him from shouting. He gave it a few tries but the animal who did this knew how to do it.

Suddenly the spotlight turner off and a few other lights turned on. The wolf could now fully open his squinting eyes. At the beggining he could not see anything, but after a while his pupils got bigger, allowing him to better see in the darkness.

He saw nine other animals, all tied up like him. Some of them he recognised. Some of them not. The ones that catched his attention immediately were Tamara Rose, Richard Gaines, Freddy Robbins and Ben Freeman.

He did suppose she would be there with him. The nosiest journalisy in Zootopia would eventually cross paths with the Phoenix. And knowing how she was it was certain that she would end up here someday.

Richard Gaines was another story though. The kudu was not involved in any of the Phoenix activities. As far as the wolf knew all he did was keeping track on somebody's earnings.

The third mammal, a moose called Freddy Robbins was in between compared to the other animals. Ernest did not think he would be caught, but he also knew it was a possibility, especially with his beliefs and what he fought for.

The third animal was simply an informer, by the nickname of P. As Ernest looked closer and recognized a claw mark on the bear's arm he already knew what the panda did. He gave information he should not have given to somebody who should not have known.

The rest of the animals - a fox, a roe, a tiger, a llama and a capybara he did not recognize. They probably did something awful because they ended up here with him, but their profiles probably were too low or unimportant for him.

The chains suddenly let all of them go, without any warning. All the animals fell on the floor, along with the sound of the chains clanging.

The first thing most of them did was to remove the rope from their mouths. Ernest did exactly that, scuffing up the sand as he violently cut the rope with his claws, not caring about the wounds he probably caused. He knew it was worth it as soon as he took a deep breath when the rope fell on the ground.

All other predators felt the same way, making a short orchestra of gasps as soon as they freed themselves from the rope. Only the moose looked at them with bits of contempt and visible disgust. The roe was terrified, curling and sobbing on the floor, the llama did not care and the capybara gave them a sympathetic look.

"What the fuck is going on?" the tiger spoke, looking around

The room had no doors. No windows. No vents. It looked like it was sealed and would become their grave.

The moose seemed to realize it first, giving all the predators distrustful looks, as he miserably tried to cut the rope. He quickly got freed by the cat, who was just beside him.

"My guess is as good as yours and I'm the best informed animal here." the panda said, as calm as he was in a park on a sunday afternoon

"You don't sound too scared." the llama commented, sounding even duller than the ursine

"Why would I be?" the panda replied, shrugging "I already knew they would bite a piece of my ass. That's what you get when you try to warn the others..."

"They? Who the fuck you talkin' about?" the tiger asked

The panda snorted and giggled a little bit. Thay showed only one thing. He was scared, but he just did not show it.

"Ain't it bloody obvious?" he asked "The Phoenix. They got us all here and now they are going to do some bad shit to us, ain't they Black?"

The wolf nodded. He did not want to acknowledge the truth, he tried to push it away but he knew he should do the opposite.

"Careful with the claws!" the moose said, backing away from the cat, who cut the roe's ropes and tried to calm her down

"If you had a better idea how to free yourself and her you had time to do it, so shut up." she replied

"Whoa, chill!" the capybara said "If the situation is bad and we have any chance at all we should work together!"

"You've got to be fucking shitting me!" the moose exclaimed "I'm not working with them!"

"Why? It's the worst place for prejudice, fuckhead." the llama said, however he did not seem to care

"You want to trust an animal who can claw you at any second, go ahead." the moose replied

"We could all say the same thing about you, only we would get hit in the head by your hooves." Ernest commented "And perhaps you did not notice, but our chance of survival is low and you are decreasing it with every other second."

"Right now my only direct threat apart from dehydration and starvation are five killing machines that can turn on whenever they are hungry!"

"Four." the llama said

"Are you blind? A wolf, a tiger, a cat, a fox-" the moose spat on the ground "-and a panda. That's five to me."

"Pandas mostly eat vegetables. Almost all of them are folivores." the llama explained

"Doesn't change a thing, they will kill us."

"Have you fallen in an actual coma when Bellwether admitted it was all made up?" the kudu asked, visibly tired of moose's words "Quit your bullshit. It ain't gonna help us."

"You'll fucking see when they go for our throats..." the moose muttered

"You both actually know what those Phoenix twats are going to do?" the tiger asked, moving his head from the panda to the wolf

"Ever heard of initiation?" the wolf asked and continued as he saw the feline's clueless face "They round up a few animals that messed with them and put them in a warehouse with an animal that is tested for their abilities."

"Should've broken more of them fuckheads... Do we have any chance?" he asked, assuming he already knew the answer

The wolf surprised him.

"Yes. We do. But only if we work together."

"My opinion on you won't change." the moose said, squinting

"Do you ever quit?" the kudu asked

"He's from prey rights council, so don't count on it. Signed the collar initiative as one of the first." the cat said, almost done comforting the other female

"So he's that kind of bastard..." the tiger growled

"You're all dangerous. You just have to face it, we need to protect ourselves from you."

"I'm dating a lioness and she hasn't killed me yet. Do you actually want to get out of here?" the kudu cut in

"She's gonna kill you the moment she finds it fun."

"Fuck you."

"Should we get him out of the picture before he does anything retarded?" the tiger asked, getting up

"I know every single law in Zootopia, if I ever get out I'll have you skinned!" the moose exclaimed, getting up too

"Bring it bastard. I'll make sure you won't get out, motherfucker."

Tiger's words made the moose red on his face. Ernest was sure the situation will end up with one mammal beaten to death. He was just about to intervene but something else happened, something that made all of them shriek on fear.

A terrible screech could be heard as one of the walls moved upwards, revailing a flat TV screen and a metal door.

The TV turned on. No image was shown other than an animated picture of an orange bird, stretching its wings to sides as it was encircled by a cirque set aflame.

Then a distorted voice started to play.

 _You may think you are here because of an accident. Because we were wrong. Because we caught a wrong animal._

 _You are wrong then. We wanted to catch all of you and place you here. Because we think you may get out of this one. Some made it out not losing a single animal. How many lives or dies - that depends entirely on you._

 _You are closed in a labyrinth with an animal that has one goal. Do not let you walk out of here easily. He may kill you. He may harm you in a way you would wish you are dead. Again - it's all up to your decisions._

 _You may think this is punishment. But we call it mercy. You have a chance to live._

The TV turned off, leaving all the animals speechless.

"That's exactly what I needed. Another predator." the moose said, closing his eyes

"Go fuck yourself." the tiger replied

Ernest looked around, scanning the animals he was trapped with. The only ones that seemed down were the fox and the roe. He walked over to the female first and kneeled next to her.

"Are you alright?" he asked her, with his best soothing voice

"We- We are g-going to die, a-ain't we?" she asked, trembling on the floor as the cat continued to try and comfort her, or at least to calm her down

"Shhh." the wolf replied "I won't let that happen."

"Do you promise?" she asked, looking into his eyes

"I'll do my best." he replied

He knew that was not what she expected, but it seemed to calm her down. He smiled, gave her a thumbs up and walked to the other canine.

"Hey, are you alright?" he asked the fox, kneeling down next to him

"No. I-I fucked up! I need to get back home, to my family, t-they need me, I can't just..." he did not end, burying his face in his paws "Oh god, Cynthia... What have I done baby... My little girl..."

"We all fucked up. But we're going to get out of this, if we work together. Can you help?"

"No, you don't understand!" the fox relied, moving his head up "I was stealing their formula from them, they want me dead!"

"If they wanted you dead they would just shoot you on the spot. One bullet would bbe enough, the Phoenix doesn't play games with animals they find unworthy. If you made it here it means they will give you another chance. Think of your daugher. Make her a goal you'd do everything to reach." Ernest motivated the fix

"You... You're right. They wouldn't put me here if they wanted to just kill me. Thanks. Yoy helped a lot."

The fox got up, along with the roe, who was still shaking a bit.

"Uhmmm, guys?" the panda said "I think we might be in trouble.

Everybody turned to him and saw that the door was open. There was a corridor behind them, wide enough for three wolves to stand next to each other. It ended nearby, probably with a turn.

Ernest walked closer to it, ready to dodge a bullet if anyone would peek and try to take him out. It did not happen though. No one peeked the canid, who stopped at the doorframe.

"I think we should go." the wolf said

"Are you crazy or deaf?" the moose asked "You heard the recording, there's a killer out there."

"Weren't you the one that wanted to get out a while ago?" the llama asked, walking into the corridor

The tiger followed him, with the capybara behing him. Then the cat and the roe went in, followed by the fox and the panda. The last animals to walk in were the wolf and the kudu, followed by the moose who reluctantly moved forward, muttering something about predators.

They made it through the corridor, turning left when there was a fork. At the end of that branch there was a metal door, with a big keyhole.

"Turn round, we're not getting through this." the capybara said

"Why?"

"Metal door. Pushing doesn't work." the llama explained

"There is a keyhole though." the cat said

"We're looking for a key then." the wolf said, heading for the second branch

He begun to feel a little uneasy when he walked for a while but there still was no sign of the place they came from. He just kept walking and walking until he got into another room.

He felt his fur bristle up as his ears laid flat on his head and his eyes widened. It was an entirely different room. He knew he would not miss the turn, which meant it simply disappeared.

While he stood there, shocked other animals went inside the room, moving around him. Their reactions were more or less the same. Cursing, gasps of disbelief and fright and some inaudible mutrering came from the animals that just went in.

"What the fuck..." the capybara said, sounding like he was about to panic "What the actual fuck..."

"They're messin' with us." the llama said what was the most logical explanation

Those words, calm as no one of them was stilled the wolf.

"He's right." Ernest spoke "We all need to calm down and do not panic. If we disperse we're as good as dead."

"You best shut up." the moose replied "We wouldn't have panicked if you didn't miss the god-damn turn."

"If you're so sharp how could you not see it and tell us about it?" the kudu asked "To hell with you."

"It's amazing how they trained you, made you their puppet. When things go back to normal mammals you won't be spared."

"The fuck you taking about now?" the tiger asked

"You stick your nose in your business." the moose replied "While you still can..." he added too quietly to be heard by anyone

"Should we have a look around?" the cat asked, scanning their surroundings

"We could." the kudu said "There's no going back, but they wouldn't have shown us that door if we didn't need to find the key."

"Are you both out of your minds?" the moose asked, looking at the rest of the group with disbelief "We have no idea what is there and no idea when they will release the one that you said is after us!"

"They did." the llama replied

"Then why is he not here yet?" the moose disagreed, his voice refusing to accept any objection

"He's smart." the llama replied and spat right next to the moose's hooves

The lawyer was just about to jump on the llama and beat some sense into the animal, but the llama's cold gaze stopped him. Those eyes had no emotions in them. The animal could cut a school trip to pieces and cook his dinner with the same face expression. That meant danger. The llama could do anything and not feel anything afterwards. Even the moose's $10000 suit was not worth it.

"You done fucking around?" the tiger asked the moose, who just glared at the feline

The hall they were in did not depart from the rest of the building they saw so far. Metal walls with rust here and there, floor covered with a thick layer of sand and some light sources on the ceiling. The hall itself was rather big, like it was designed for elephant-sized trucks to drop cargo in. It probably was, but that was not what concerned the animals there.

There were several corridors, three to be precise. All of them led to darkness, probably way longer than any of them thought.

"We need to get the key and get out of here." the panda stated, heading towards the first one "It'll be the fastest if we split up."

"But we will be more vunerable. If anyone hunts us splitting up is the worst idea ever." the fox said

"Shut is pelt." the moose said, not even bothering to turn to the canine "What do you know anyway?"

"He's a fox. If any animals know what to do if they are hunted it's them." the wolf replied

"Whatever."

They all went inside the first corridor. It was way smaller than the previous one, with only one animal able to stand in it. They went one after another, this time making the moose go in first, followed by the tiger and the wolf. The reason was fairly simple - mutual distrust. The captives wanted to have someone able to fight near the moose.

"So, what did you do?" the wolf asked the tiger

"Wha?"

"Why are you here? And what do you do when you ain't stuck in a place like this?"

"You care 'cause of something?"

"Just wondering."

"I'm a typical criminal. A wallet here and there and make a livin'. Sometimes break some of those Phoenix fucks fucking skulls and go hiding then, but nothin' else. You?"

"Private eye. Did not realize the case was tied to the Phoenix and since they already gave me a warning I ended up here."

"Is it true what the bastard on the screen said? 'Bout the killin' one?"

"They call this the initiation." the wolf replied after a while "An animal is dropped here in order to test their skills and mentality under the influence of their night howler serum. They either break and spend the rest of their lives as a psychically and mentally disabled, or they possed the skills unachievable for ordinary animals."

"Holy fucking shit... Is it even worth it?"

"You'd believe this if you saw one fighting. I did once, almost cost me my life."

"The fuck spared you, huh?"

"He did. I did not have a chance."

"Stop the shit-chat and look at this." the moose said as he went out of the corridor

Soon the whole group was inside of another room, with a pole in the middle of it. It had a nail sticking out of it, with a key hanging on it.

"So, where's the catch?" the cat asked

"I don't know. Let's just wait and look for-"

The llama walked straight to the key and took it. He turned it in his hoof, put it in his pocket and turned around, ready to exit the room and go to the door.

The floor collapsed under him, which caught him off guard. He showed his emotions for the first time as his face had a look of surprise on it as he fell down the hole. Ernest reacted fast, leaping towards the llama, sliding on the floor as he barely grabbed the hoof of the animal.

He felt his stomach turn when he saw what was below him. A pit full of bodies, in various stages of decay. The smell hit him right after that, almost making him vomit.

He pulled the llama up and threw up, taking a few steps away from the pit. The llama just walked away unimpressed, like nothing happened at all.

The other animals did not try to look down. They did not want to know what was in there.

However they soon found out as the rest of the floor cracked below them, falling down, right next to the dead.

Soon almost all the animals were throwing up. Some of them looked away, trying to escape the nightmare. The only animals who did not were the llama and the moose, seeming to count something.

Out of the sudden the capybara stood up, jumped to the corridor and ran, white on his face.

"We should get out of here." the tiger said with weak voice, wiping his mouth with his sleeve

"Let's go." the cat agreed and got up, ready to exit the room

"AAAAAAGH! LET GO OF- GOOOOOOD HELP MEEEEEEE!"

They all backed away as they heard the capybara's voice not so far away as it echoed through the room, soaking the terror, fright and fear in it right into their brains, fulling their imaginations with the worst scenarios.

"Don't split up." the llama said, being the only one who seem not be influenced by the situation

"That's what happenes when you let predators without collars..." the moose muttered, loud enough for the animals to hear, but quiet enough to make them think he did not want them to hear it

"What do we do?" the panda asked "What the fuck do we do?!"

"First we calm down." the fox said "If we panic we will surely-"

BANG!

"D... Die..." he finished his sentence, falling to the floor, with a hole in his belly

All the animals, except the wolf were too shocked to do anything, just gawping at the moose who hold a pistol with smoke coming from its barrel. He simply pulled it back into the holster behind his jacket and tried to push the black wolf away from the dying canine.

"WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU JUST DO?!" the tiger shouted, pulling the moose away from the fox and pushing the prey against the wall "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!"

"You... You're fuckin... Fucking choking m... Me..." the moose replied, with both his eyes wide open as the feline's fist clenched on his throat

The tiger yanked the pistol from the holster and cursed.

"One-shot pistol and you wasted it on one of us?" he threw the small gun on the floor "Are stupid or fucking retarded?!" he exclaimed, moving his face so close that drops of saliva ended on moose's face

"Wh... Why would you trust a f..." the moose tried to say, but the fist clenched again

"He's here with us, why the fuck wouldn't I?"

"Let him go." the kudu said

"Why?" the tiger replied, watching as the moose weakened, his death coming close

"He wanted to use the fox as a meatshield. Let's use him instead. I think a running snack would drag more attention." the kudu finished

The tiger frowned and let out a quiet growl as the moose hit the floor like a bag of potatoes. The prey started to breathe heavily, avoiding death by a matter of seconds.

"Don't think I won't have my eye on you, fuckhead." the tiger said, kicking the moose

"Don't think I'll spare you, motherfucker." the moose replied, too quiet for anyone to hear

The tiger went over to the fox, laying on wolf's knees. He spat blood and had a faraway look, probably witnessing the afterlife already. His lips constantly moved, like he tried to say something.

The wound on the liver was enough to tell what would happen. The canine's death was inevitable. No matter how hard the wolf pressed the wound, the damage was too much.

"He's already dead." the tiger said to the wolf, who seemed not to hear "It won't change a thing." he added, gently trying to pull wolf's paws away

"No, he's not." the wolf replied, the look of pure determination on his face

"He's shot in a liver, it's a matter of seconds now."

No matter how much the animals wanted the that to be wrong the tiger was right. Fox's lips stopped moving along with his chest rising up. The wolf kept holding the wound for a few seconds though, not wanting to realize what just happened. The tiger gently pulled him away, patting the canine on the back.

"You couldn't 'ave done nothin'."

The wolf looked at the body "I hate those moments. When I wish somebody is wrong."

He looked around. All the other animals were shocked, the roe crying in the corner, with the cat trying to calm her down.

Ernest decided to give everyone a minute and then the group went to the corridor which they came from, with the moose a few meters in front of them. As they made halfway to the exit they found the capybara. Or what was left of him.

The animal was killed rather swiftly, with a single claw cut on his neck and a few on his chest and arms. His face still showed surprise and pain as the group made it through, some of them preferring not to look.

They made it to the door in complete silence, nothing brightening their gallows humour. Nobody joked. Nobody tried to lower the tension. Everyone was mad on the moose. Nobody wanted the hate to go away.

They even threw him the key, hitting him in the head by the by.

"Watch it, you blind fuckups!" he said, opening the door

The tiger leaned to the wolf.

"Do you make animals like him pay in your job?" he asked

"I make them mad." the wolf replied "Some facts I have can really hurt them."

"Do you need an assistant?"

Ernest's brow went up "That's one way to ask for a job. The place is a bit weird though."

"I messed with the Phoenix too much now that they want to kill me. Plus I've just found a common fuckin' enemy."

"I think I could use a helping paw."

The door opened, the moose trying to get behind them and close them for the rest of the group. When it did not work, as the tiger and the wolf leapt forward, holding them in place he run away, further into the new room.

"Where are we?" the kudu asked, looking around as he went inside the room

It was a big magazine, filled with smell of oil and dust. Many shelves, scaffold parts and machine parts laid around, making a huge mess.

The wolf smelled "In the docks. Can you smell fish?"

The rest of the animals had a few smells and nodded. His guess was as good as theirs.

"We should look for the exit." the cat said "We need to get out."

"Oh, that can be harder than you think." they heard a new voice, coming from behind

All the animals turned around, to see the llama with a knife in his belly and a cheetah's paw buried in his body, next to the weapon.

"So that's how it feels like... I always wondered..." the llama said, looking at the wounds

"You seem to be a little talkative when you are dying." the cheetah replied, pulling his paw out, with blood spouting all over the panda

He grabbed the knife and threw it at the ursine, hitting the chest. His moved were so fast that the group realized what happened when the feline was already on the bear, stabbing him a few times. The rest did what was the best thing to do. Run.

When they saw how fast the cheetah moved it was clear they did not stand a chance. All five of them escaped, hoping to find an exit, or at least hide.

"Any idea where we should go?" the tiger asked, running in front of everyone else

"First of all, away from that crazy bastard. Second of all, we should find a wall." the wolf replied

"Third, watch out for me." the moose added, tripping the tiger

He used a sharpened pipe as a spear to try and kill the feline, but forunately for the tiger, he missed as the striped animal moved.

The tiger groaned as the pipe entered his body, making a small wound on the forearm. The pipe hit him in the head right after that, the moose trying to stun him to eliminate him easier. The third strike aimed for the leg, just so the moose could enjoy it.

The kudu however did not just stand and watch. He jumped at the moose and pushed him away. Continuing what he started he grabbed the pipe and begun to try and yank it away.

Ernest tried to help him, approaching the fighting animals.

"Help the tiger, I'll handle this fuck myself." the kudu said, heating the wolf come from behind

The wolf listened, helping the tiger up and supporting him as they walked towards the wall.

When they made it there the sounds of the struggle went quiet.

The tiger looked at the roe and the cst and cursed "Fuck! Get them to safety." he said

"I'm not leaving another animal here!" Ernest replied, looking for a way to reach a window

"And how would you help me out? I can't fucking walk." the tiger argued

Ernest closed his eyes and sighed "Are you sure?"

"I'll be alright, you just get out."

The feline let go of the wolf and begun to walk away, using the wall as support.

The wolf on the other paw helped the ladies on the nearest shelf and then climed himself. He wanted to get out by jumping through the window, too high to reach it from ground level.

He helped the ladies again, making them reach the level needed to jump and then tried to do it himself.

A hit on his back made him let go of the shelf, gravity making him fall. He hit the ground, closing his eyes.

When he opened them he saw the moose, standing in front of him. The pipe was painted red, probably with the kudu's blood.

"Surprise, motherfucker." the moose said, swinging his provisional weapon

The metal rod hit the wolf time after time, swing after swing, as the moose wanted to make Ernest regret he was born.

He suddenly stopped, which made the wolf feel a bit uneasy. This only meant the moose wanted to do something even worse.

He opened his eyes, only to see the cheetah clawing the moose. The prey cried for mercy, trying to cover his chest with his arms, which the feline massacred in order to get to the vital spots of the moose's body. Ernest had to admit that the cheetah had the spirit, as after a few seconds the whiteness of bones could be seen between sagging slabs of flesh. That view was hipnotyzing, both disgusting and fascinating the wolf.

He quickly threw that off and stood up, right in time for the cheetah to deal with the moose. The feline kicked the prey away, who tried to crawl away, sobbing as he left a trail of blood behind him.

The wolf tried to overcome his dizzyness, as he wanted to put up a fight. The cheetah proved his ability to do it wrong though, being able to throw a few punches in amount of time the wolf threw one. He basically played with the canine, using basic punches and kicks. Ernest took the beating, slowly wearing down as he knew that the fight was over. After a fifty blows or so the feline decided to end it, using an up knee, almost breaking the wolf's nose.

Ernest, who barely stood even before the finishing hit fell on the ground, spitting blood as he gasped for air, using his tounge to feel a gap between his teeth. The feline used his knee to pin the wolf to the ground, making him wiggle in pain as he felt his broken ribs move under the cheetah's weight.

He moved his sight to look into the feline's eyes.

"Relax. You already had your lesson." the cheetah said "I'm going to let you go. Not that it's mercy, you are pretty beaten up. A few month in a hospital at least..."

The feline stood up and looked at the bloodtrail the moose left.

"Looks like I have to clear up that one too... If you're still there by the time I come back it will mean you gave up. My mercy limit for today is over."

The feline walked away, leaving wolf alone with the decision.

Ernest breathed slowly, trying not to overstrain his broken ribs. The canine slowly got up, using the nearest shelf as a support. He groaned, already feeling too much pain. But he knew he had to keep going.

The wolf pulled himself up repeatedly, until he got on the top. He look forward, just to see two holes the females made bofore him.

 _At least they made it out..._ he thought, wincing in pain

He knew the run would be painful, but if not that he would not have another chance. The wolf took a few steps backwards and begun to run as soon as the distance was enough.

The leap was terrifying. Like he was jumping off a skyscreaper, not a ten meter high shelf. The wolf flew through the holes, hitting the ground harder than he intended to.

He could not move after that. His torso, his arms, his head, his legs became one. Pain. Unbearable pain, eating him from the inside. He knew he was done. The thing he feared the most became true. His mother would have to bury him. That he knew would be the last nail in the coffin.

And then, he heard the most beautiful thing in his life - ambulances on their way.

* * *

The youngest wolf finished his story and waited for his parents to respond. Both of them stared at him wide-opened.

"So..." William cleared his throat "It's the Phoenix?"

"Yes dad."

"I'll fucking kill Sapoznikhov." the older male said through gritted teeth "I'll make him squeal..."

"You don't stand a chance, dad." his son replied

"The hell I don't! He's already de-"

"No dad, he's spetsnaz trained! The best you can do is to spit on his feet!"

"Your dad knows how to fight." the she-wolf cut in

Her husband looked at her, with a surprised look on his face. This was the first time in ages she supported him. Since their rather heated quarrels that started as soon as their youngest son applied for the ZPD their only nice words to each other were said on family meetings, only so the atmosphere would not become bad.

"But Sapoznikhov tops him like... A lot... An awful lot. Besides, I'm still not sure if he's Rodriguez, dad."

"I'll think it over. Nobody screws with this police officer."


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

Every single mammal sitting around the big, glass table was not in a good mood. In fact every single one of them was enraged. About half an hour passed since all the crime bosses of Zootopia got there and nobody said a single word. They only gave each other some angry glares, but that was it.

Their security felt really uneasy. They all more or less knew each other, since their bosses more or less worked together since the five conference. And the mood of their bosses foreshadowed only one thing. Violence.

When the masked animal called for another meeting nobody expected it right here, in Prey Rights Council main building, almost in the heart of Zootopia. The conference room itself was rather nice for most of them, in a typical modernist style. Every single one of them could call service to order some food, drinks or anything reasonable to ask for, but none of them did it yet.

The door opened. All the animals, the skunk, the shrew and the buck turned to the animal who just entered the room.

"Well Perry, you are late." Rick hissed, glaring at the wisent

The drug lord looked at his watch, unimpressed by the death glares all the other animals gave him "You are wrong. I am on time, you came to early." he walked towards the closest chair "Besides, if I am late why there is no masked animal?"

He sat on a chair, challenging the other bosses with his sight. They stared at each other until the wisent spoke again:

"Where's the fuckwit?" he asked, frowning

"The hyena was not invited." they all heard from the opposite side of the door Perry walked in

They were a little surprised when they saw another animal than the first one walked in. They were masked too, but they could tell they was not the first one.

"Now, let's get to business. My boss called you here becaus-"

"Just before you continue. Our pay's increased." the buck spoke up, with everyone nodding

"How much?"

"Very much. You offered one million dollar per a mammal shot with your new-"

"It was f-"

"DON'T YOU CUT ME OFF!" the buck yelled, red on his face "It'll be ten million per a mammal shot."

"I'll discuss this wit-"

"No, you won't. The pay will be like this, or we quit and the ZPD will recieve an annonymous call." this time Mr. Big cut in the middle of the sentece "Or I may just ice you right now, it won't make much of a difference to me, nor to any animal in this room, I assure you."

"We may also test that." the wisent said, pulling out one night howler pellet "I was wondering how it works."

"Now, let's get to business." Harry finished, leaning on the chair

The masked mammal remained silent for a while and then spoke:

"Our plan is simple. Using those pellets." he raised one, holding in his paw "We will make the Phoenix fall."

After those words there was silence. Undisturbed silence. The skunk broke it first.

"Do you actually think we didn't try to defat the Phoenix ourselves? It's almost impossible. With your help or not, it ain't going to happen."

"Those pellets turn every kind of animal savage. Same as the old ones. Both predators and prey. But this one is stronger. Bellwether used the ones that just turned animals savage, this will make them more ferocious. More blood thirsty."

"Did you add even more drugs than she did?" the wisent asked

"Exactly. With this the Nocturnal district will turn into a war zone. When the Phoenix will be sorting out the mess you will take them over."

"With a scenario like that... It is achievable..." Rick muttered, thinking about it

The masked mammal was about to answer, but he was interrupted by a laugh. A slow and sarcastic laugh, coming from the door everyone beside him came in.

Everyone turned their faces there. They saw a lynx, walking inside the room. Four animals - two snow leopards, a cougar and a cheetah followed him, all of them clapping slowly.

"Hee he he. Ha ha. This was a bad joke." he said, stopping near the table

"Who the fuck are you?" Rick asked, slightly annyoed by the interruption

"You should care more about stinking arse over there!" the cougar scoffed, grinning mockingly

"As much as I'm going to beat you up after this for that I need to agree." the lynx said with closed eyes "Harry is a snitch." he added, opening them

"Serious claim for someone with four hitmammals. And that size." Harry snarled, showing his teeth

"They could beat all of your bodyguards with tied paws." the lynx ascertained "Oh wait, I could do that with one leg. Back to the topic, watch this." he threw a smartphone to the masked animal

He took the phone to a console in a wall, connected it with a USB cable and hit play.

A few screens exserted out of the table, showing a wolf and a skunk in a dirty alley. It was raining and there probably was a fire behind the camera, as the scene was illuminated with warm orange light. The wolf had his face contorted with pain and anger, aiming a pistol at the skunk and pressing a wound on his belly, while the smaller animal was lying on the ground with his face in the mud.

 _Let's face it, you don't want to die, do you?_

They heard Rodriguez's voice, slightly distorted. The quality of the video was not good at all, but it was not about quality, but rather what was in the video.

The skunk did not answer, preferring to hold the wound on his leg.

 _I have two options now. Or to destroy them and take some land myself and leave a shit ton of it to the others or to secure my flank and give the meadowland to someone and do not care about the rest._

The wolf said, leaning on the brick wall.

 _What... What do you want from me? Just fucking finish it._

The skunk replied, turning on his back.

All the animals in the room, except the felines and the skunk was shocked. It definitely was Harry. Not only they heard his voice, but he also had a unmistakable mark on his face. It was clearly visible on the video, even with his face covered in mud.

 _They know you there. You will take this phone, go there and take over, but you have to do it before I get there._

The wolf said, throwing a phone to the skunk.

 _Why before you get there?_

The smaller animal asked, grabbing the device.

 _Because if you won't be fast enough I will kill them all. Your infuence there is small, but there are experienced animals there. You'll have to take care of it yourself._

 _You're not gonna help me?_

 _I still have a lot of animals to take care of._

The wolf replied, looking down at his wound.

 _Fuck me... And how am I supposed to get there not bleeding out?_

The skunk asked sarcastically, moving towards the wall.

 _Chertovski molokosos... I'll have someone sent._

"I believe this is enough." the lynx said

Harry rapidly got up, pulled out a pistol and aimed at mr. Big.

"Nobody fucking moves!" he shouted, looking around like a paranoid cat on crack

"I'll have to support that." Koslov snarled, glaring at the skunk

"Are you that surprised of his reaction? Jacob is crying in hell right now..." the lynx said, shaking his head with disbelief

"Shut the fuck up!" the skunk said, his gun still aimed at the shrew

"Nobody? Really? Why is he still alive? Hello? Has it really come to th-"

The skunk cut the sentence in half with his scream. He fell on his knees, with one of the tendons in his leg cut off. He was about to fire his gun at the shrew, with tears in his eyes, but Koslov was faster. He yanked the gun off the animal's paw and aimed it at him. Meanwhile Rick, who stood behind the black-white furred mammal dug the already bloodied box opener straight into the skunk's neck.

The black-furred animal fell on the floor, with crimson blood gushing out of the wound.

Rick kicked the skunk.

"You were going to sell us when he'd be ready, huh?" he kicked the animal yet again "Fuck you!"

He walked away and sat in his seat.

"So who the fuck are you and what do you want?" he asked the lynx

"I am... Someone you need, but do not realize that." the feline begun, walking around the table "I am the one that watches from the shadows, the one that observes and strikes when it's the best. I am a silent assasin, who can chase his prey across the seven seas. I am the fifth horseanimal of apocalypse. I am chaos."

"Very poetic, but doesn't explain anything." the wisent stated, watching as the lynx slowly walked behind Rick and Koslov

"I show animals the truth, even painful one. And then show them a way. I can turn a city to chaos with a few gallons of gas, a fistful of chaos and a couple guns."

"Is this why you are here?" the masked animal asked

"You can as well remove this mask." the feline replied "Nobody here knows you, except me and I. Don't. Care." he turned to the bosses again and continued "You agree with him that you can beat the Phoenix with the animals you have. A bunch of inexperienced, ignorant idiots, who fight for you only because you force them to do it. By having their balls in an iron vice."

"We know this. But there are no valuable lives in the usual shitholes we take them from." Perry said

"There are." the lynx replied "You think where do all Rodriguez's animals come from?"

"Now that's some grade A bullshit right there." the buck said "If you say he dragged out animals like Heinrich fucking Klauemann then I would have had an army of super-soldiers!"

"And how the fuck would you train them?" the feline asked, turning to the buck "How would you see that pearl in a sea of animal shit? You'd never do. Your only combat experience is long gone. You may have bitten and clawed your way to the top with your cute little teeth, but now the only fight you'd win would be a fistfight in a bar. Rodriguez on the other paw... He can see through animals better than I ever did. He can fish an animal up in Happytown and make him a Rambo. He finds animals with spirit, gives them hope and ensures their absolute loyalty."

"Great." the buck said "Give us more reasons not to listen to that guy." he added, with every single word quite literally dripling with sarcasm "That is the reason you came here? To discourage and insult us? Congratu-fucking-lations. You managed to do it. Now, if this is all, fuck off!"

"This is not all." the lynx replied

"Then hurry the fuck up."

"I believe I showed you how bad your hitanimals are when it comes to fighting."

"How exactly?" the buck asked

"Well, breaking into your hideouts was easy. It went faster than the population counter in Bunnyburrow and pretending to be one of your high ranked members was even easier. With that done I took some of your hitanimals, attacked Rodriguez's house and then the banquet. You all know how it happened. All of them are sniffing the dirt from the other side now."

"So it was YOU! Wait until I get my paws on you, motherfu-" the buck hissed, with murder in his eyes

"Ohh, you'd rather not." the feline replied, pulling out a remote detonator.

As he activated it something beeped inside the table. The wisent, the bears and the shrew opened their eyes wide, so wide that the lynx could see the white of the shrew's eye.

"Ironic. You wanted to chop me to pieces, you'll blow to pieces. But to be honest blowing is what bunnies do very good..." the lynx said, looking at the buck

"I'm a buck you piece of shit. And I don't care if this is real, I swear to god, I'll fucking go for your throat."

"You usually stop plastic and now it's going to stop you. What a twist. Although this is Semtex, not another Karen."

"That's it, motherfucker!"

Rick jumped at the feline, with murder in his eyes. He was ready to rip and tear, but the lynx was faster. He grabbed him by the throat and choked the prey, his face expression as neutral as it was a few seconds ago. Buck's claws made a few cuts and blood begun to weep from the wounds but the buck slowly decreased his pace and stopped, grabbing the forearm of the lynx.

"Now, when the tantrum is over." the feline continued "You realize how bad they are. But I've just shown you what I can do." he easened the grip just for a bit, so the buck could take an abrubt breath but then clenched his paw again, cutting off the air "I played this buck." he shook the animal "I know what to do to make this city set aflame. And that's what's needed to bring the Phoenix down. All I need is your animals, resources and time."

"What about the minors?" the wisent asked, unimpressed by the whole situation

"I'll need them too. The most will die, but I care as much as you all do." he easened his grip again and clenched his paw again after a second "You think that you can take down the Phoenix all by yourself." he turned to the masked animal "That is stupid itself. But you did the unthinkable and assumed that the ZPD won't react."

"Why would they?" the masked animal asked "We would be attacking a common enemy."

The lynx sighed "Do they know what the Phoenix holds? They have no access to the results of the Five Conference."

The masked animal did not reply. The feline turned away from him and easened his grip for a second, only to clench his paw right after that.

"You see, to defat the Phoenix you need to crush the ZPD first. Their safehouses and properties on the surface are extremely well guarded. If you tried to assault them you would have to do it fast, which is basically impossible. Why? Because of the ZPD. A few minutes and they will be on your arse, biting out whatever that's left." he easened the grip and clenched it after a second "What you need to do is not to cause chaos down there in the Nocturnal District. After one hour of your actions they will know what you are doing and just barricade themselves in thier hideout. And if that happens no one will poke them out. Not with the chaos. And with your resources."

"Rodriguez would do it." Koslov said

"Are you fucking Baba Yaga? No? Neither am I, so shut the fuck up." the cougar said

"You just told us what to do. You do realize we could just eliminate you after this conversation?" Mr. Big said to the lynx

The feline frowned and shook the detonator in his paw.

"You won't do it yourselves. You have no idea how to bring a city to its knees. You know how to make a mammal do it, but I know how to make animals kill each other." he turned to the masked animal yet again "And you inform your boss what he planned will be achieved."

"But why would you do that? It's not profitable for you."

"You have no idea what's profitable for me." the lynx replied

He easened his grip and kissed the buck, who tried to break free. As the feline was finished he threw the buck back on his seat and went out of the room, with the other felines following him.

ooooooooooooooo

The building next to Prey Rights Council's building was under construction for a while. Walls, floors and stairs were there already, the only thing left to do being the finishing, like painting or other stuff like that.

"We need to call in the big guns." the first fox said, turning to his brother

They hid inside, watching the meeting with the binoculars and CCTV cameras.

Daniel frowned "But why would we do that?"

"Imagine all of them dead now. Nothing to fear later." Peter responded

"This is a reason." the second fox agreed and pulled out his phone

He quickly dialed a number and waited for the animal he was calling to pick up. His surprise was quite big when he did not connect.

"What the hell... He always has this phone on." Daniel said, dialing the same number yet again

"This is concerning." Peter said as the line went dead yet again

"What are the odds he's with his wife now?" Daniel hissed, dialing the same number the third time

"Third's time the charm. We won't reach him now." Peter stated, leaning against the wall

His brother called the fourth time though, with the same result. Rodriguez did not answer the phone, with the reason quite simple. It was turned off as he worked out.

Many places in Zootopia were open 24/7, mostly for the nocturnal animals. They, of course could go to the Nocturnal District, but that meant loss of customers.

The gym was empty as the wolf trained in the dim light, coming from the reception. He did not go easy on himself. 150 pounds were his bare minimum. After he is done a few stretching exercises and he could call it a day.

But that plan changed as another animal walked inside. Danila grinned as the red fox stopped, realizing who he just walked into.

The wolf put down the barbell and stretched his back.

"You have a habit of running into dangerous animals, Nicholas." Danila said "At least this one doesn't want to bite a chunk of your ass off."

"You're the last person I wanted to see ever again, Danila." the fox replied, heading towards the section of the gym that was his size

"At least you're honest." the wolf replied, stretching his arms "You up for a little sparring match?"

"Why? I don't want to lose half my teeth and end up in a hospital." Nick stopped in the doorframe "You'll beat me up in a matter of seconds."

"I want to see how much you remembered. No pressure though. If you don't want to do it, that's fine." Danila replied

"If you achieve your greatest speed I won't stand a chance. Also, everyone else will have a nice scene."

"If you are talking about Savage's eyes, their activities here are minimal. Besides, I won't do it, because as you said you stand no chance against me. Nobody does." the wolf stated the fact

"Vincent?" Nick replied, recalling the lynx's skills

"He may. You could too, but you disagreed." Danila agreed

"And my mind hasn't changed."

"That's a shame. You would be almost unbeatable."

"Won't I need training to get to your level?"

"You could, but the serum doesn't work that way. You know... I've trained a lot of kits. Many of them bigger than you. Stronger than you. Smarter than you. But none of them had your spirit. So, are you up for a little fight?"

"Ah, screw it. Just don't be too hard on me."

"You got it."

The wolf led the fox to another room, with much more space. There were two rings there, one for animals slightly bigger than the wolf and the another one for smaller animals, like foxes. Danila entered the bigger one, not even looking at the gloves. He took off his hoodie, only leaving the short sports pants.

All three rings went from Danila's fingers to a box he put in his pocket. The wolf turned around, the medallion, vial and the golden orthodox cross moving along with him.

Nick followed him in, stretching right after that. The wolf waited for him and when the smaller canine was finished he dashed forward without any warning, adding the momentum of the jump to his arm rapidly straightening, creating a force that could easily end the fight.

If only it hit. The fox sinply took a step to the side, avoiding the joules that were coming at him.

The wolf reacted with his elbow, sending it towards the fox as soon as he moved away.

Nick did not go backwards that time. Daila himself taught him to overcome his instincts, telling him to go back and avoid the fight. He clearly remembered when the wolf explained how it was the first step to losing the fight. If the fox retreated all the time he soon would have found himslef with a knife in his throat, or a survival shovel deep in his guts.

That was why Nick stood his ground, redirecting the elbow upwards, counter-attacking right after that. His fist shot forward, aiming for the solar plexus.

But it met nothing as the wolf gently took a step back.

Nick did not let the chance go. He attacked two more times, a straight right to the face, followed by a uppercut to the side, where the kidney was.

Both hits did not meet their destinations, as Danila used his forearm to block the straight hit and simply took a step to the side when the uppercut came for his kidney.

Nick forgot how quick Danila could be. His hits felt like they took years to travel through time, when the wolf has already reacted and dealt with them halfway, faster than anyone who had not seen that could imagine.

The fox barely dodged the wolf's fist, aimed at his maw. He failed to regain balance as he landed after the jump, almost gaing on the ground.

Danila catched him in the last moment though and pulled him so the fox stood again.

Nick leaned down, putting his hands on his knees as he breathed heavily. Danila was a hard opponent, but he did not expect he'd put up a fight like that. The smaller canine was out of breath, gasping as the wolf simply walked in front of him, cracking his knuckles.

"You throw yourself at the enemy too hard. Ease up. Keep your balance. Remember, if you fall the fight is pretty much over." Danila said

"Okay..." Nick nodded and straightened "Let's continue."

The wolf jumped at the fox, like he wanted to do an up knee mid-air. Nick did not expect that, but he would not just stand there and get his face destryoed. The fox jumped to the side and landed bending his knees, ready for Danila to continue his attacks.

The wolf landed, bending his knees. Nick used the opportunity, attacking as he made a step forward, still with Danila's comment in mind.

The wolf tested that, dodging Nick's attacks instead of parrying them. The fox did not lose his balance, keeping the attacks steady and fast.

The wolf decided to test something else, taking the fox's uppercut on his forearm and making a straight right. Nick positively surprised him, pushing the fist away instead of going back.

Using the only option he had left the fox used his legs, delivering a kick that could finish that fight.

But the wolf went back and grabbed Nick's foot, pulling it towards himself.

The fox fell on his back, barely managing to lower the impact with his arm. The wolf stood right in front of him, towering the smaller canine.

"You see, you are very good. Name an officer in the ZPD, none of them would be able to defat you. But take Heinrich, for example. He'd beat the shit out of you. You fight well, but those who you can beat are not going to be your worst enemies. And this is the problem."

Nick stood up, witht the help of the wolf.

Danila frowned as he sniffed the air.

"Okay, look you have to sort things out with your partner." he stated

"Why?" the fox asked

"You know well about the neutralising agents. Even with them her scent is all over you." Danila replied

"I did not pass the initiation, so how the hell would I know? Besides, nobody except the ones that passed would know, so why would I care?"

"Because I've seen the looks she gave you. I've seen how you look at her. Get your shit together and tell her what you feel. It's that or you kicking yourself for the rest of your sorry life. You know the stereotypes about bunnies. Her parents are going to look for a date for her, she's 24 after all. If a bunny ain't married by that age they either are seen as dissidents, or their family shows their disappointment to them. Those are their traditions." Danila said that calmly, but with a tone that would not tolerate disagreeing

"Why do you care?" Nick asked, pretending not to care

But he did. He knew that of there was anyone that could read him like a book Danila surely was one if those animals. And if what he said about Judy was true that gave the fox a new goal, a goal he would fulfill in a matter of days.

Danila bit his tounge at the last second. He kept forgetting that he was supposed to dislike Wilde, even contempt the fox a little.

He did not want to see the fox depressed. He did not want to see him sad and angry at himself for the rest of his life. Plus he's made a promise after all. It was hard for him to overcome scaring off the fox, so how hard would be acknowledging his suicide?

"I had enough of your bullshit. Plus I'd hate seeing your mother break down, she is a good female." the wolf simply said, his face expression still

"Exactly what I needed to hear." Nick replied, going away from the ring

Danila watched as the fox walked away and sighed. What he had done was necessary, but the consequences were severe.

He put his shirt and hoodie on, took the bag with his suit and belongings and went for a jog.

He enjoyed today's weather. A little chilly, but it did not matter for him, as he could stand much lower temperature. He was a siberian wolf after all.

After an hour or so he finally got home, the guard letting him pass after a quick id papers' check.

Aurora hills was the upper class' apartment complex. Luxurious single-family houses, surrounding by colorful plants at all sides and a lake in the middle of the estate.

The wolf greeted some of his neighbours, passed by some playing kits and finally walked inside his home.

"Winston?" he called his valet with no response

Danila frowned and made sure his knife was easy to pull out.

"Ryan?" he called for his cook

No response again. Danila took out his gun.

"Adelaide?" he called the cleaner

The wolf slowly made it to the living room, right next to the hallway. He aimed his gun for the most dangerous places where armed animals could be, but there was nobody.

"Artyom?" he called for his brother

Silence. Danila went upstairs, sure that Diana was in the bedroom. But he was not sure if she was safe.

When he was upstairs, he turned right and stooped by their bedroom door. He opened them and dashed inside, his gun ready.

If he had to be honest with himself that was expectable. He knew how unpredictable Diana was in her heat.

His wife laid on their bed, only in her underwear, with a dirty smile and in a seductive pose.

"I called them off for a few days."

Danila let out a relieved sigh, put the gun down, flipping the safety off first and walked to his wife.

"I'm gonna have a heart attack because of you someday." he stated, looking at her hungrily

"Not today, though." she replied and pulled him into a kiss

He got on the top of her, on all fours, not breaking the kiss.

"Have you been working out?" she asked

"How can you tell?" he replied, caressing her cheek

"You are all sweaty."

"Yeah... How about we take this to the shower?"

"Shower sex? Haven't done that in a while, have we?"

"You're right." Danila agreed "Why don't you go and prepare while I get all of those clothes to the washing machine?"

"Come fast, big guy." Diana said and walked to the bathroom

Danila on the other paw undressed, leaving nothing but his underpants left and put all his clothes in the laundry room.

He got upstairs again and stopped right in front of the door, hearing the water running and Diana humming a song he could not recognize. With a smile on his face he entered the room.

 **A/N:**

 **Exams out of window everyone! Those chapters will come out much more frequently!**

 **If you are wondering what will haplen during the sunmer holidays I have good news for you - it's possible they will be posted two times a week.**

 **I'm back to writing - you stay tuned.**


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

Danila put the cigar in his mouth and fired it up with his engraved flip lighter. He tasted it and smiled approvingly, reaching for a bottle of Jack Daniels on the nightstand. He poured himself a glass and leaned on the wall, feeling as the matress on their bed bent under his weight.

Diana moved closer and gave her husband a hug, resting her head on his shoulder. He put his arm around her and exhaled, the smoke being sucked away by the ventilation. He could lay with her like that for ages. His paw automatically begun to stroke her fur.

"Did you enjoy it?" she asked, blushing a bit

Diana smiled. She always seemed so innocent. But Diana was a beast on the inside, with limitless deposit of lust.

Danila flicked the ash from his cigar over the ashtray, took a sip of his whiskey and put the cigar in his mouth again. Cubans did know how to make good ones.

"I can't disagree." the male replied, turning his head to her and locking his gaze with hers

"I don't imagine myself without you." she replied, smiling

"Love cannot express how much I love you, honey." Danila said, moving her closer

"How about we eat some breakfast?" she proposed, hearing her stomach rumbling

"Stay here." Danila replied, taking the cigar into his paw so he could kiss her on the forehead

He walked out of the room, putting a pair of underpants and grabbing the glass first. Then he went downstairs, to the kitchen. He looked at the clock, realizing he spent over four hours with his wife not even noticing.

He shrugged, finished his whiskey and put the glass in the sink. Then he begun to prepare breakfast, which would be dinner too in that case. A few eggs, milk, some baking soda and bacon and he begun to make his specialty - fluffy pancakes with bacon in them. Diana and everyone who tasted them at least once absolutely loved them.

Just as he was finishing he felt two paws on his shoulders.

"What are you cooking? Smells delicious..." his wife asked, pressing her naked body against his

"You always liked my pancakes, didn't you?" Danila asked, a smile appearing on his face

"I loved them. Is this bacon?" she asked, with a hearable sniff

"Best one." the male wolf replied

"Once in a while, huh? You won't ever change." she said, resting her head on his shoulder

"I don't notice you minding it at all." Danila replied

The wolf put the last pancake on a plate, filled two cups with orange juice and placed them on a tray.

"I planned to eat that in bed... How about we extend the couch and watch some TV?" he suggested, turning to his soulmate

"I had something else in my mind." she replied, leaning against the table

"Really? What was it?" Danila asked, with curiosity in his voice

"Cuddling in bed all day long." she explained

"How about we eat on the couch and then cuddle there?" the male wolf offered, with a smile appearing on his face

"So you didn't have any plans for today?" Diana asked, a little confused

"Even if something comes up, I don't care. All I want is a week or even two weeks off." Danila said, lifting the tray and heading to the living room "I just want to devour your beauty. Spend some time with my marvelous wife."

He placed it on a coffee table next to the couch, extended the furniture and laid on it, his wife joining him immediately.

She adhered to him and smiled. Danila felt like a radiator during those cold nights in Tundratown or Sahara Sqaure. He was a nice counterbalance to the chilliness in the room, caused by air conditioning.

She gave him his plate and dug in after she got hers. Danila was one of the few animals who knew how to cook meat good and had enough of it to make it so often.

Diana ate slowly, savouring the taste. When she was finished she put her plate on the coffee table and laid flat on the bed.

Danila put his plate on Diana's and did the same, finally having a while to rest.

"One rule I have, hon." Diana said, turning her head to him

Danila frowned.

"Your underpants, silly. Take them off, there's none of that when we cuddle, remember?"

"Now I do." Danila replied, throwing his pants off the bed

Diana resged her head on his chest and hugged him.

"This is all I need to be happy." she said "Just you and me. Anywhere."

"You forgot about one thing though." Danila replied, kissing her

"Yeah, I did." she agreed after they broke the kiss "Do you have any plans for the next week?"

"I do if Vincent decides to blow something up. But I doubt he will. At least tommorow."

"So? We'll just lay here and cuddle?" the she-wolf asked

"I have no problems with that." Danila smiled "But I'd like to see the kids."

"Andrei and Katyusha or Peter, Cassie and Samantha?"

"All five of them! Let the younglings see their old father, let them out of the boarding school sometimes. We need to keep in touch."

Diana begun to pet Danila's chest fur. It was so dense, yet so mellow. An effect caused by Danila's healthy lifestyle and her knowledge.

"You're right. But now I want to stay like this."

"Ain't it a bit to chilly for you?" Danila asked, frowning

"I told you multiple times, you are like a radiator." Diana replied, smiling

Danila sniffed the air.

"We need to take a shower." he looked down "My fur is a mess. Yours probably too."

"Not that I mind." she said

"I know you don't, you naughty girl. The point is that our services may arrive today."

"I called them off for today too. Do you know what that means?" the she-wolf asked, whispering into her husband's ear

"I am afraid to answer."

Diana smiled, cimbing on top of him.

"That we have a lot if time to get even messier."

ooooooooooooooo

"How many more times do I have to say this to you? They won't fucking help." the snow leopard said, finishing his statement with a sigh

All the time he had to work with mobsters' hitanimals he questioned his sanity. The question however was not 'if', but 'how much'.

The incompetence he worked with could not be said with words. A total opposite to the animals from the organisation he fought with.

"They may accept, you never know." the polar bear replied, slightly annoyed by leopard's behaviour

Sometimes the leopard wished he went with Danila, not Vincent on that fateful day. But he believed it was too late. He may not have sworn anything to the lynx, but he felt obligated to the feline.

"But they won't. Akihito taught Rodriguez everything he knew about blades and agile fighting. He respects him. Hell, R fucking beat the shit out of him after a year. He's a quick fucking learner." the feline explained

They never listened to his reasonings. Never actually considered his opinion. The opinion of an experienced fighter, who has seen more than anyone they knew.

"So if he beat the shit out of his teacher why won't they help?" the bear asked, wondering why the leopard did not figure this out earlier

They did not try to see through the eyes of the enemy. They did not try to guess how their allies would react to various events. Just going in, without a plan.

"He is Japanese for fucks sake! Imperial Japanese! Does that tell you anything? His mentality differs from yours. He is a thousand bloody levels above you. If somebody bests him he earns his respect. R did exactly that. Alihito won't do anything that would harm R in any way." Gus said, ready to give up if he had to explain any further

The bear did not reply, which was exactly what the feline wanted. The leopard leaned on his seat and closed his eyes, trying to get some sleep. Even though they went almost from the heart of Zootopia arriving to that Japanese martial arts specialist always took way too much time. Traffic did not help either, slowing them down significantly.

After some time the car stopped at the gate, a serow approaching them.

The property in front of them was big. If the leopard had to guess he would say more or less four football fields could fit there. If he recalled his past visits correlctly half the space was taken by a huge garden. A huge and beautiful garden.

The rest was mostly the buildings, all build using the same, Japanese architecture. They were not as big as usual criminal's mansion, but Akihito was not a typical criminal. Ten buildings, all basically the same made a rectangular shape, with a small, green courtyard in the middle and enough space between them to barely fit an elephant.

"Are you expected?" the serow asked, putting his hoofs behind his back

Akihito's hitanimals diffirentiated from other hitanimals too. They highly resembled Mr. Big's in terms of their clothes, but everything else, from behaviour to training differed.

The leopard glanced at the clock. Seven past eleven.

"We are a bit late, thanks to the traffic." the feline informed

"I understand." the serow replied and said something in Japanese to the guards near the gate

The gate begun to open, smoothly and without any sound. The car went through it and parked in a parking of some sort, both the bear and the leopard exiting it. The serow led them to a building in front of them.

Just as the guests thought they would enter it the serow turned and entered the space between in and the next building. They went through it and entered the building after the serow opened the sliding paper door. He went up the stairs and then turned left, stopping near another sliding door. He quickly exchanged with the guard in front of it and turned to the bear and the leopard.

"Mr. Akihito will see you in a moment. Stay here."

Then he left.

The leopard looked at his watch and put his paws behind his back, patiently waiting for the host to invite them in. The ursine did the opposite, squirming and looking around, kicking his heels.

The leopard closed his eyes. It was not the first time somebody unexperienced acted like that, but he could never get used to it. They often were the main reason negotiations like that failed.

He did not know why Mr. Big and Koslov thought Akihito would help them, but he knew that those talks would be over even before they begun. The Japanese fighter never liked any criminal organizations. Arguing that he respected Danila was just stupid. The wolf was liked, not the organization he led. Akihito despised the Phoenix as an organization.

And that was the difference the other bosses just could not see. The difference between the organization and the training it gave. Akihito always respected animals with good fighting skills. And the feline knew that Phoenix members had extraordinary training.

Suddenly the guard opened the sliding door and just stood next to it, waiting for Gus and the bear to enter the room. The leopard did not wait, regaining his reflex almost immediately after he had been knocked out of his thoughts. He entered the room filled with smoke coming from joss sticks. His nose no longer worked in the fragant smoke, a feeling he hated and still remembered, even after all those years.

The bear joined him, probaby looking for a tall and muscular animal waiting for them in the room. His face was priceless when he saw a rather small shiba inu, sitting in a lotos pose with his face turned away from them.

"Mr. Akihito." Gustav said, taking a bow and gesturing the bear to do the same "I have come here to discuss something with you."

He glared at the bear who seemed not to understand what the feline meant, or at least not think he was serious.

"Who is with you, the Lost One?" the dog asked, straightening his kimono as he stood up

"He has never met you, master." the feline replied, still bent

The bear looked at him with confusion, turning his eyes from him to the dog. He felt like he was in a comedy, only it was not funny.

"That was not the question." the canine said, turning to them "What is your name?"

"Nikola." the bear replied, frowning in confusion

"I gave you a piece of advice, the Lost One. Do you remember what it was?" the dog asked, like he did not hear the answer

"I do master. Yet I have sworn to follow Vincent's orders." the feline replied

Gustav watached as Akihito slowly walked towards him. The smell of the joss sticks made his head heavy. The lack of light and the smoke made him unaware of his surroundings. His savage self was quiet, probably wanting to hear what the shiba inu had to say. Akihito gestured the leopard to straighten and looked him on the eyes.

"You are truly lost. Even more afraid than before. Trying to get all that away from you, by dragging the animal closest to you down. The Dancing with the Wind made you who you are. You abandon him and with the help of your brother you will find harmony every single one of you so desperately seeks." the dog turned around and sighed "None of you listened to my advice yet. Not even the Two-faced Dragon. But when I look at him I know he is the only one who tries."

"With all due respect, master. R... Danila had it easier than every single one of us, including Vin-"

"The Dancing with the Wind put a cloth around your eyes. You cannot watch the world. You can only listen to what he says. Rip off the fabric. Become your own animal. Embrace your inner self. Or end miserably." the shiba inu said and turned to the leopard and the bear again "What do you want to discuss?"

"We want help in fighting the Phoenix." the bear simply said, casually crossing his arms on his chest

The leopard turned his head faster than a bunny on crack. The ursine felt the coldness of the feline's gaze, the anger inside if it. Gustav knew that Nikola made it a thousand times harder to persuade the dog. But zero divided than a thousand was still zero.

"You try to rip the heart valve off your body. Two defenders, killing their armourers away. That is if you are serious, of course." Akihito commented, taking a few steps away from them

"As much as I know how stupid this sounds I'm afraid he's telling the truth, master." Gustav said "We are going to fight the Phoenix and we need any help we can gather. I never expected you to accept, but it is worth a try."

"You know fighting the Two-faced Dragon here is not a good way to leave the living. He will respond as you attack what he values the best. His biggest treasure. Not the skycrapers from which he gains countless amounts of money. Not the safes in which he holds enough gold to make king Midas envious. Not the hideout where his brothers of arms are. You try to destroy a unreedemable part of him."

"Which is?" the bear asked, with a slightly annoyed tone

"The Sunbeam." the shiba inu replied, returning to the lotos pose "She brings harmony to Two-faced Dragon's life. She is the connection between the cunningness and the ferocity."

"Could you at least give me a hint, master?"

The dog stayed quiet for a while.

"I once asked my father when the apprentice becomes the master. He told me it is when the student defats his teacher. The Two-faced Dragon brought me to the ground a long time ago and has improved since then." the dog said "I cannot help you with that."

The leopard waited for a while and just as he was about to leave the dog spoke again.

"There is one thing that can bring him down. Drag him down with guilt." he said "He shared it with me hoping it would never see the daylight."

"I don't know where you're getting at, master."

"I test my former students even when they become better than me. I made his will iron. Unbendable. Unshakable. I want to see if it stays that way, if he's going to sacrifice the promise he made for his goal or if he chooses to keep his honour."

The shiba inu stopped for a while. Sharing that information was hard.

"The Iron Spirit was trained by Two-faced Dragon. He taught him everything he knew. Got him into the Phoenix. But he treated him like his son. That is why he scared him away. He gave him a chance of a normal life, but at a great cost. Guilt still haunts him to this day."

"All great, but that ain't telling us shit." the bear said "We need particular information, not some poetic bullshit."

The leopard closed his eyes and sighed with disapproved. He knew what was going to happen next.

"I have found your behaviour extremely impolite since you begun to speak. That calls for two things." the shiba inu stood up and walked forward, closer and closer to a vitrine "Either you leave now or you fight with me."

 _Leave._ The leopard mouthed, hoping that the bear would listen to the rational side of his mind and let him get some more information.

But the ursine did not listen.

"And how would you defat me? You're too small."

The shiba inu did not reply. He just opened the vitrine and took a piece of cloth for it. He wrapped it around his head and tied it on its back. Then he took a katana out of it and unsheathed the sword.

"You have refused to leave. Three cuts for three abuses."

The dog turned around on his paw, unbelievably daintily. Positioning the sword behind him he covered the distance between himself and the bear even before the ursine managed to pull out his knife.

The first cut went for the belly. The blade, so sharp its edge disappeared into nothingness, had no problem in digging through bear's tissue. It was not a deep cut, but the dog did want to kill the bear, he just wanted to teach him a lesson.

Nikola took a few steps backwards, his eyes widening as he felt blood between his fingers after he pressed his paws to the part of the extensive wound.

The canine continued, slashing the bear's arm next. His moves were extremely smooth, full of grace. A deadly dance, which the leopard watched with pleasure.

Nikola fell on his knees, too shocked to say or do anything. The knife fell on the floor a while ago now, leaving him defenseless.

The last slash went for the cheeks, ripping them in half. The katana was barely covered with blood, opposite to the floor, which was crimson red. The dog wiped the red liquid off the blade, sheathed it and put in the vitrine again.

"There is a chance the Two-faced Dragon will break down if you kill the Iron Spirit." he said, sitting in the lotos pose yet again "Farewell, the Lost One."

"You fucking bastard!" the beaer screamed, pressing his wounds "Koslov will skin you alive!"

The leopard could swear a smirk appeared on the dog's face.

"Is it hard not to bite the pieces of flesh when you talk?" he asked

"Fuck you!" the bear replied and stood up with difficulty "We'll see who's so smart when I'm done with you!"

The leopard decided to act and grabbed the bear by his shirt.

"Apologies, master." he said, bowing "I could not disagree to taking him with me."

"You have a good spirit, the Lost One." the canine said "Do not use it helping the Dancing with the Wind. He takes events of the past way too serious."

The leopard bowed again and dragged the bear out of the room. When the sliding doors closed Nikola wrenched himself free and turned to the feline.

"What the actual fuck? I thought you were with me!" he accused the leopard, pointing at him with his finger "He made me a fucking joker lookalike and you did shit!"

"I never though he'd help us. He begun to share information, not because he wants us to win, but because he wants to see whether R breaks down or he continues to fight." Gustav replied, crossing his arms on his chest "Plus you disrespected him. That's what he does if somebody disrespects him." the feline said, pointing at the hanging pieces of flesh "Akihito ain't your normal, everyday fucking criminal. He's an animal with tradition. There's only one animal that has defated him and he's not with us."

"You talked about somebody called Danila, not fucking Rodriguez." the bear replied "Fuck you too."

Then he turned around and begun to look for the exit.

"If you're that stupid it's better for you." the leopard muttered "Right!" he said way louder when the ursine missed the stairs leading to the exit

He joined him soon afterwards. The way back was tense. None of them said a single word and both of them wanted to reprimand the second animal.

The critical point was right after they entered the car. The atmosphere in the car was extremely tense.

"Why did you insist on taking him with me?" the leopard asked the person sitting next to the driver

The dark window slid down, reveiling a big polar bear.

"It was not my decision." Kosov replied and frowned as he saw the second bear

"Oh yeah, sorry I forgot all you can do is suck a shrew's little cock." the feline replied, crossing his arms on his chest

"You better watch your tounge." Nikola replied "Or you won't have what to watch after Koslov's done with you."

"At least I didn't have to say this." Koslov added "Who did this to you?" he asked, looking at his hitanimal's cuts

"The fucking jap we talked with." the smaller ursine took a medkit Koslov gave him

"Is he nuts?"

"He sounded like he was." Nikola stated, cleaning the wounds with some antiseptic "Poetic bullshittery."

"That 'poet' of yours created the animal Rodriguez is today." the feline said, closing his eyes

"Do you think I will let this slide?" the bigger bear asked, pointing at Nikola's cuts "I'll make him say sorry!"

"Yeah, I'd like to see that." Gustav commented, falling asleep

oooooooooooo

Nick parked his car and entered the building. He did not expect Judy to call back so soon and surely did not expect her request. The bunny just told him to come and finished the call right after that.

The fox entered an elevator and pressed the button. He sighed as the door closed. No matter how hard he pushed them away from him Danila's words still came back, echoing in his mind. He and Judy. Either now or never. Danila knew how to put things simple.

He was right. All the time. He knew Nick would eventually return to that noradrenaline-filled lifestyle. He was that kind of animal that could look through skin, bone and flesh and study the animal's soul.

The fox always tried to shove those thoughts away. He did not want to pass the initiation. He liked himself as he was. So what if it made him really alive? Nick preferred the dream.

 _A frail relection of your true self._

He jumped back, opening his eyes wide. He sure as hell was glad nobody else was in the elevator, but that was not his greatest concern at that moment.

The voice returned. That little bit of the fox who fought alongside animals like Heinrich, or Dimitri was back. The last bits of his combat instincts. He knew it was there. Let it take over in combat situations. But it never interrupted his everyday life. Until now.

"Is this how R feels all the time?" he asked himself, too scared to hear this in his head

The fox did the best he could. He just looked at the door, ignoring the voice. Too scared to look in the mirror.

The elevator stopped and Nick went out of it, right in front of Judy's door. As he was about to knock at his partner's door they opened, revealing Judy herself.

"Hello officer." the fox said, leaning on the doorframe "I wanted to report a robbery."

Judy's brow rose up "I'm listening." she replied, with a smile appearing on her face

"She appears to have stolen my heart." Nick replied

"I'll be sure to contact you if I find her. Come in, Slick."

"Why did you tell me to come in such a way?" Nick asked, entering the apartment

"Not here." Judy replied, closing the door

Nick followed her as she entered the balcony and closed the doors behind her.

"So, why do we have to talk here?" the fox asked

"Because I believe this is the only place they did not touch when they fixed my apartment." the bunny replied and turned on her phone

Nick did not answer, waiting for her to explain instead.

"You see, I looked around the apartment yesterday and I found something which worries me." she said, showing him a photo on her phone

Nick's brow rose up.

"It's a tab-end." he stated

"Yes." Judy agreed "None of the workers smoked. Plus, if they did that would happen here, not in my bedroom!"

"They could've just kept it-"

"There's more." the bunny cut him off and continued "Looks at it's size." she showed him another photo, with a ruler next to the dog-end

Nick leaned in to the screen and frowned.

"You see, at first I wanted to throw it away, but then I saw this." she said as Nick studied the photo "It's too big to be beaver sized."

"At least a wolf..." Nick agreed

"That made me suspicious." I looked around the apartment and then I found this

She shown another photo. It was a small, black circular device. After Nick looked closer he saw it was hidden very well. Right behind a stove's cover.

"Is it a wire?" Nick asked, very quietly

"It is. Don't worry, we can speak normally here. I checked." she assured

"Smart bunny."

"Dumb fox."

"What will you do with that?" Nick asked asked, pointing at the photo

"First I need to know who could do something like this." she replied, hiding the phone

"Jones or the Phoenix." Nick replied immediately

He did not had to think twice. No other organization had all the resources, animals and influence needed to do something like this. Plus it was the only one that could let an animal smoke during such an operation.

"Only them? What about Mr. Big? And other mobsters?" Judy asked, fairly surprised

"They prefer power play." Nick explained, leaning against the railing

"So how do we get them?"

"We can't. Nobody can." Nick replied

He hated to do something like that. To extuingish the fire seeking for justice in her heart. But it was the upsetting truth.

"Nick, you can't be right." the bunny disagreed, crossing her arms on her chest

"But it's true. If they wanted to they would've held this city by the balls."

"What about the animal who was here? Can we get them?"

"Unreachable. And even if we caught him we wouldn't be able to proove he did that." Nick said aloud what she already knew, but did not want to acknowledge

"But..." she said, with her ears and head going down

"Judy. Don't give me that sad face, I can't stand it." the fox said, kneeling in front of her and grabbing her by the arms "I understand how you feel. I know it sucks. I know it's unfair but we can't do anything. At least yet."

"Yet?" her ears perked up and she looked at the fox hopefully

"If Hudson manages to hold his position and do what he promised we could. If they let him, that is." the fox explained and stood up, letting her go

"So only hope left?"

"Unfortunately yes." Nick sighed "Don't you just want to get out sometime?" he placed his paws on the railing "To just catch a train to your Buunyburrows and take a break from all those politics and gangs? To just sit on the porch and don't worry about anything?"

"Oh, yeah! I totally forgot! It's Carrot Day festival soon. Do you want to come Slick?" she asked

"So, it's like a few wooden stands and maybe a dance?" Nick joked

Judy giggled "Oh stop it." she nudged him in the shoulder "No, it's a big deal! A few years ago it did look like that, but a year ago it was comparable to Zootopia's Spring Festival."

"Really?" Nick asked

It was quite a thing then. Zootopia Spring Festival was one of the more prestigious events in the US.

"Yeah! It's a lot of fun." Judy assured "So, will you come?"

"Will you be there too?"

"Of course!"

"Then I surely will. I wouldn't even need rides then. Your presence is enough." he said with a smile

"Oh, stop it you." Judy smiled back, nudging his shoulder yet again

"What are you doing officer? This is an assault!" he said, jokingly making a defensive pose

"What's that, foxy? Cannot handle a small bunny?" she asked, playfully boxing his guard

"She may be small, but also strong officer!" he replied, pretrending the hits were too strong to handle

"Don't you have a trick up your sleeve? I thought you foxes were cunning?"

"Okay, okay, stop. You won." he laughed

"I thought you could stand more than that." Judy replied, taking a step back

"I can, I'm just bruised up a bit."

"You keep doing those sparring matches?"

"Gotta stay in shape."

"Can't argue with that. You wanna check the trains?"


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 2** **3**

Nick lazily yawned, covering his mouth with his paw. Nocturnal animals still nedded coffee, at least for the first hours of the day. Their biological clocks simply could not shift from the hours written deep inside their heads.

Nick look left, however he did not move his head, his eyes covered with his sunglasses. Judy was right next to him, with all her luggage in one backpack. He helped her to do that after she tried to pack half her clothes into it.

Right now she only had a small suitcase. Also a purse. It collided with his view of her. He could not see her in a supermarket, buying a lot of clothes and fashionable handbags. But that was what she wore. Yet again it turned she was not only the bunny cop made out of steel he knew, but also a young female bunny.

 _Attention! Train to Bunnyborrows is approaching at platform 3. Please step away from the yellow line._

Judy's ears twitched as the anouncer spoke. Nick's stayed still on the other paw, his face still with his eyes hidden behind his shades.

The train slowly rolled in and stopped near the platform. It stopped without a sound and its door opened with a hiss.

A few animals went out of it, but not as much that walked in. Nick and Judy stepped inside, using the medium-sized entrance and slowly made it to their seats. They both sat and put their luggage in front of them, prepairing for the journey. They were lucky enough to get two seats, with nobody bothering them next to or opposite them. Which proabably would happen in a train basically filled with bunnies.

"I never supposed I would travel more than two hours to see a few wooden booths with vegetables and plants on them." Nick joked, hooking the glasses on his shirt

Judy chuckled "You still don't believe me? Bunnyburrows has come a long way from that, I told you that already."

"Come on, whiskers. Ten wooden booths?"

"You'll be surprised."

"How about a bet?" the fox asked "If there's less than twenty booths you're going to admit I'm the smartest, most handsome fox in the world."

"But if I win you are going to wear a shirt that has a 'dumb fox' writing on it." she replied, with a certain smirk

"Deal." Nick replied "Better prepare for admitting the awesome truth about me."

"I sure will find something." Judy replied with a smile "Plus I don't need a bet to admit that."

"What do you wait for then?" Nick asked, leaning against the seat

"For your ego to calm down." Judy replied with a grin

The train doors closed and the train begun to move.

"How long it has been since your last trip to Bunnyburrows?" Nick asked

"Three months. Not so long. Christmas is nice, but my parents won't stop with all that 'you're still not married' thing." she complained

"Bunny traditions?" the fox asked

"Yeah. But still, they are somewhat important for us. Even if they are outdated."

"Conservative town, huh?"

"You bet. It's a pain sometimes."

"Yeah, I can relate..." Nick said

He stopped the urge to caress the scars on his forearm. If she really knew what he had been through she would not have enough tears to grieve over him. Besides, the writing did not hurt anymore. 'fucking fox scum' written on his flesh with a dull knife healed nicely.

"You wanna play a game or something?" Judy asked

"Do you know how to play poker?" Nick warmed up

"Texas hold 'em? Yeah." Judy replied

"Great!"

Nick reached for his bag and pulled out a box containing two decks of cards. He set up the table mounted on the seat in front of him and pulled out another deck, containing the chips.

"This game has played a role in my life, you know?" the fox said

"Good or bad?" Judy asked, with interest in her voice

"It's hard to tell."

"Do you want to tell me about it?"

"Not here, not now."

Nick finished shuffling up the deck and the duo begun to play.

"They there?" the fox asked

The bunny peeked the duo.

"Playing cards. Poker, I guess." she replied

 _Has you-know-who already told you what we're doing there?_ the wolf on the phone side spoke

"Not much. What about you, Dimitri?" she asked

 _I planned that after he told me what to do._

"So?"

 _We need more Night Howlers. Don't know what for, probably for Rodriguez. I'll talk with some of the farmers, we may strike a deal with somebody._

"I do hope you have good cover for it..." she commented

 _You don't worry about it. Everything's set, I'll give you the details when we arrive. Enjoy yourselves._

The call ended. The bunny hid her phone in the pocket and moved a bit closer to the fox next to her.

"This journey will take like two or three hours." she said, yawning "Do you want to sleep, Claus?"

"Not yet, Amanda. Do you?"

"I'm pretty tired." she said, leaning on him "I wish you haven't had any clothes, your fur is so fluffy..."

"The other passengers would have had a nice show then, wouldn't they?" the fox asked, blushing a bit

"You're so cute." the female smiled "Just wait 'till we get to the motel..."

"You wanna try something new?" Claus asked, blushing even harder

She could bet he recalled the events a few nights prior.

"I'm really creative." she said, keeping the surprise

"I can tell... How long has it been since you were home?" the fox asked, caressing the fur on her cheek

"Twelve years. But you know I'm not back here willingly."

"I do. You made it clear."

"This weekend should be free. You want to do anything?" she asked, yawning yet again

"Cuddling in bed all day is all I need." he replied

"I had another idea, but what you say is just better."

"Really? I thought you wanted to check out the festival." the fox said, a little surprised

"I did." the bunny agreed

"Bunnies make good rides, I can relate." the fox joked, blushing

She laughed from the dirty joke. Claus was not very talkative, but he always hit home.

"Fun fairs are good and all, but I think we'll need some cuddling after a few days here." she admitted

"Really?"

"Those rednecks won't let us live."

"Oh."

"Did you really think I was going to pretend you're not mine? It has been a long time since predators moved to Bunnyburrows and I won't let any vixen near you. You're my fox, you hear me? My fox." she said, looking him deep into the eyes

"You can be agressive about that."

"You know me."

"You think Dimitri will mind?"

"Even if he does, screw him. He wouldn't dare to touch us after Rodriguez got us in in the first place."

"Yeah... You think anyone could beat him?" the male asked off-topic

"Nope. Not in one on one fair fight." the bunny stated

"I think sleeping now is a good idea... Will your sister recognize you?" he asked, yawning

"She hasn't seen me since she was twelve."

"Amanda, please. We can't risk anything."

"Even if she does she has no idea. It's dad I don't want to see."

"Have you had any problems with him?"

"He had some problems with me. I don't really want to talk about that."

"Okay." the fox replied and yawned "Sleep tight."

"You too."

oooooooooooo

The train stopped, its doors opening with a hiss.

Judy and Nick waited for a lot of bunnies to exit and then did it themselves, followed by another fox, who quickly got away from there.

Judy ran into her mother's arms, giving her a strong hug. Her father stood by his wife's side, smiling nervously as Nick slowly walked towards them.

"Hi mom, hi dad!" Judy said, letting go of her mom

"How are you holding up, Judy?" her dad asked, giving her a strong hug

"It's been good. What about you?"

"Well, nothing really. But in a few days we will hold the greatest festival Bunnyburrows have ever seen!" stu proudly said

"Stu, you shouldn't exaggerate, I mean Vances have held a nice one last year." Boonie replied

"But I'm going to make ours better!" the male rabbit replied "Nick, isn't it? Name's Stu. Nice to meet you."

"The pleasure's all mine, Mr. Hopps." Nick replied, shaking the rabbit's paw

"My name is Bonnie." the older female said, shaking fox's paw "Now when I see who protects out daughter on duty I'm relieved."

"Thank you." Nick replied "Is everything here so themed?" he asked, looking the carrot looking columns

"A few other places back in town. You see, there was this architect with a vision." Stu said

They talked for a while and then went to the car, Nick helping Stu to pack their luggage. Then the predator sat in the back, next to Judy.

"So, how is your job, Judy?" her mother asked

"Well, we had a case, but now we're suspended for a few days, or maybe even weeks." Judy replied

"Why?" Stu asked

"Well, I've followed a lead, off-duty." Nick explained

"Did you get anything out of it?" the older doe asked

"Quite much, actually." Judy said

"Why did you get suspended, bumpkin?" Stu asked

Nick barely stopped himself from bursting in laughter, Judy hitting him below the ribs with her elbow.

"I followed Nick." she explained

"Oh. Okay." Stu replied

"How are you guys holding up?" Judy asked

"Well, as you probably guessed from this season, contraception is gone from the stores and pregnancies are sky-rocketing. A few marriages are arranged right now, abortion is a thing, even if looked down on..." Stu barely held the urge to spit "Apart from that we are organising the festival this year, so we needed every single pair of free paws. But hey, we did it and we did it great."

"Well, I'd rather say good enough, but-"

"Honey, it beats Vances' one by every single aspect possible." Stu cut his wife mid-sentence as she tried to correct him

"Is it a good advertisement?" Nick asked, fairly curious

"A great one! Vance got like twenty leaseholders a year ago and I have a lot more land, which also is way better." the male rabbit replied

"A lot of money to be made..." Nick said

"Yeah." Stu agreed

The drive took them less than half an hour. The condition of the road surprised the canine, as he thought it would be way worse and consist of holes rather than the asphalt. But it was a well made asphalt road, branching off in several places.

But what really surprised the fox was the size of his partners parents' family house.

It was almost comparable to Sapoznikovs' mansion and that gave everyone food for thought. It did not look as good, which was to be expected, but the size did dumbfound him.

"Pretty big, huh?" Judy teased

"I thought I've seen big houses, but that one is BIG." Nick replied

"You should've seen the burrows! Enough space for whole community to get in. All build back in the cold war." Stu said

The car stopped right before the house. After looking around a bit the fox spot a few smaller bunnies playing outside.

They went out of the car, Nick carrying their bags. He felt sweat forming on the back of his neck as the noises of bunnies playing went quiet, replaced by whispers.

He assumed it would be like that. He got used to it, but never actually thought Judy had over three hundred siblings. That was enough to change his situation from a guest to an intruder should they feel threatened because of him.

But that was not what he should worry about at the moment. Way too soon, they haven't even spoke to him yet.

He hit the top or the doorframe with his head as he entered the house lost in his thoughts.

The building was too small for him. A little, but he had to be bent all the way through the corridor, straightening only on the stairs. The bunnies fit perfectly though.

Judy's father led them to the guest rooms, on the eastern side of the building. Nick found it surprising they had a room for animals his size.

They left their bags in their rooms and went to the dining room, as Bonnie insisted they ate something. Both of them had no problem with that as they ate breakfast for a while ago now.

Judy let them to a smaller one, made for guests and also fitting larger animals. The main dining room was way bigger, as four hundred bunnies could fit in there.

The smaller one was more cozy, had higher celling and a few paintings on the walls. Nick liked it. It had this countryside feel in which he found peace, this silence he seeked when he arrived here, after so many years living in a busy city.

Just when they sat Bonnie walked in, holding a tray with four bowls of steaming soup, one bigger than the others. She placed the tray on the table and gave everyone their bowl, one going to a place that was not taken yet.

"Stu will be coming soon." she explained before the question was asked "He takes that Carrot day festival thing very seriously."

"I can see." Nick replied, grabbing the spoon "How do you have fox sized cutlery?"

"It's quite new, we bought it after Gideon made that business agreement with us." the older doe replied, not going into detail about that for reasons quite obvious

Nick nodded and begun to ate the dish. It was good. Really good. A carrot soup, seasoned perfectly.

"You know, Judy" he said as soon as he swallowed "I wonder how did you stand living on Zootopia's restaurants with those tastes in mind."

"My mom does know how to cook." Judy replied

"Thank you dear." Bonnie replied

The door to the room opened and Stu walked in, taking the free seat.

"Well, there was a minor inconvenience, but everything is sorted out now." the male bunny said, grabbing a spoon

"What about?" Judy asked

"Just the Beans. They talked bunk about Grey, wanted to take his stand."

"What did you do?" Bonnie asked

"What every thinking animal would, I told them to buzz off! No more prejudice coming from this bunny, I already did enough harm."

They continued to eat and finished the soup, all extolling Bonnie's cooking skills. Nick took the empty bowls and placed them in the kitchen sink, while the older doe took the second course from the oven.

It was a ratatouille, which tasted better than any other vegetarian dish Nick had ever tasted. The spices used were perfectly selected and the vegetables were extraordinarily good.

Halfway through the dinner a younger bunny entered the room, not noticing the fox at first.

"Hey, mom we need some money for the gasoline." he said, correcting his shirt

"It's run out again?" Stu asked, reaching for his wallet

"Yeah, dad. We hadn't refuelled it yesterday and we did drive a lot, like-" he stopped as he saw the fox "The fuck?"

"Mind your language son." Stu replied

"What? Why is this here?" he asked, pointing at the fox

Stu did not reply, grabbing his son by the arm and dragging him out of the room.

"The hell, dad?"

"What do you think you are doing? Why would you insult our guest son?" Stu asked, trying to control his anger

"He's a guest?! You invited a fox for a bloody dinner?" the young bunny exclaimed "I mean, they've eaten us and you don't care! First Gideon, now this shit!"

Stu slapped his son.

"Watch your tone. And your language." he hissed "This ain't your friends' speciest club, this is my house."

"Heck no! We have suffered because of them for thousands of years, they are our enemies!"

"We already talked about this. May I remind you who made the deal with Gideon harder?"

"He's a shitty bak-"

"Mind. Your. Language. Gideon gave us a few very good buyers. All becaude of his bakery. All you have done was complaining. So either you are speciest somewhere else or you are not around our guest. Understood?"

The younger rabbit muttered something as his answer.

"Understood!?"

"Yes!"

oooooooooooo

A splash of cold, refreshing water from the small sink was all Nick needed.

Stu and Bonnie apologized for their son behaviour. He said it was not a problem for him. They did not believe. But it was true.

Nick looked at his reflection in the mirror. He seemed like a normal guy, his musculature too small to make him look intimidating. But on the inside he was a monster.

The fox barely stopped the urge to shatter the mirror with his fist and begun to sob instead. The dam that held his emotions needed to let them flood his mind sometimes. He was a fuck-up. This was the only word to describe him. Emotionally unstable, hurt so many times, by the prejudice and the system. He had no idea how he kept the monster inside of him quiet for so long. And now he was active again. Whispering. Teasing. Hissing. Hidden behind the mask Nick created a long time ago.

Nick quickly splashed more cold water across his face, trying to get his shit together. At what point in his life this happened? After the junior ranger scouts incident? When the bullies in his school broke his forearm? When the junior ranger scouts carved that writing on him? While he was molested by his teacher? Or perhaps when he left all that behind?

None of that was true. The one that set the monster free was the mammal he owed his life to. Danila Igorovich Sapoznikhov. And now Danila despised him. Being the only animal that could help with that.

His fist stopped right in front of the mirror. No. He could not do that. He had to stay strong. For Judy. For his mother. He has lost other reasons to extend this a long time ago.

He cursed and fell on his knees. Why on Earth he had to be the animal she fell in love with? Danila was right with that. Fhe wolf always was. He should have never gone to the gym. Every time he met or saw the arctic wolf he got those thoughts again, but every time they went away. But this time they went on.

The problem were not Judy's feelings, it was his. He also felt that. Love. Ripped away from him with his heart. He could blame Margaret for many things, but he had to give her one. If not her his feelings would destry him a long time ago.

He could not be with Judy. She did not deserve the wreck of the animal he was. He had to scare her off, to make her go with sonebody else in life-

 _No._

That word echoed through his head. The inner voice awakened. He thought that it was an illusion earlier in the elevator, but it was all true.

 _You cannot do that. Stop. Go for it_ _. She wants you and deserves you. It's love. Mutual love._

Could it be the turning point? His life turning around? Since the junior ranger scouts incident he felt like he was falling into a bottomless pit.

And then somebody grabbed him and started to pull him out. But into another one. Danila trained him to survive and fight, but also connected him to the most dangerous criminal organization.

And then he tried to kill the fox. But Nick escaped. That was like the junior ranger scouts incident all over again, but way worse. Because to feelings of weakness, pain and defat were joined by bitterness, betrayal and depression. Nick fell into the same pit again, this time with a pair of cement boots. At that time Nick did not care. He just tried to end that, stopped only by Finnick, the only friend who knew what happened.

Nick opened his eyes and in the mirror he saw the same six year old he once was. Filled with joy and curiosity, sure that nobody wants bad for him only because he was born a fox.

He was at the crossroads again. Listen to the voice, the shattered leftovers of his old self and be that joyful kid again, or submit to his fears and fall into the pit of depression again. This time there would be no coming back. Both optios could end with him found dead because of overdosing antidepressants, but only one of them would end with him possibly happy.

oooooooooooo

Judy sat on the porch, resting on a bench. She enjoyed the warm weather, listening to music. A few minutes like this and she forgot about all her problems.

"Judy, darling. Can we talk?" she heard her mother over the music

She paused it, pulled the earbuds out and straightened herself.

"Yeah, of course. Is something wrong?" she asked, taking a sip from a cup of coffee afterwards

Her mother sat next to her. She was tense, like there was a hard conversation coming.

"Judy, are you a lesbian?"

The younger doe choked on her drink, almost spitting it. She barely swallowed it and took a deep breath.

"Remember, we'll love you no matter what, you can be honest with us."

"No, I'm not mom. Why would you even think that?" Judy asked, still recovering from that unexpected question

"Well, you know how it is." her mother replied "You're still not married. A few years ago nobody would have a problem, but you're twenty four, reaching twenty five!"

"I don't know where you're getting at, mom." Judy said, fairly confused, but also worried

This was not the first time one of her parents approached her like that. That meant one thing was coming. She certainly did not want to have that conversation again, but here it came.

"Look, if you are uncertain we have a few good candidates, all of them from good families, all you have to do is just ask." her mother said

Judy sighed.

"No mom. I'm good. We have this conversation every single time I come here and every single time we come to the same conclusion." she said "I'm not getting married to someone I don't love."

"Judy, please. It's either me or your father you will be talking with." her mother insisted

"But what is the point of my marriage if I'm not going to have kids any time soon anyway?" she rhetorically asked "I did not join the ZPD to just sit in one place, I want to go up the promotional ladder!"

"Judy, I understand. But think rationally. You prooved that a rabbit can be a police officer, but do you really think they treat your position serious? You got no promotion whatsoever from solving the missing animals case."

"What? Mom, I am a respected officer in the precinct and chief Bogo trusts me!"

"Judy, I am not denying that, but what about the city hall?"

"Look. We may discuss this a long time." Judy said, getting to the point "And you try to achieve one thing. Which you will not achieve, because I am not getting married yet."

Bonnie's ears perked.

"Yet?"

"Don't get too excited mom." Judy said

"Well, some hope is always better than no hope." she stated "What do want to do on the festival?" she asked, changing the topic entirely

"First off, have a good time!" Judy said, glad that the conversation was about something else "I'll see what exactly when I'm there."

The door behind them opened and Stu walked out, holding a tray with three cups, a few teabags and a kettle with boiling water. He placed the tray on the table in front of them and sat on the bench, next to his wife.

"Stu, you're a peach." his wife said, giving him a kiss on the cheek "You really didn't have to."

"But I wanted to." the male rabbit replied, pouring himself some water "Have you talked with your siblings yet, Judy?"

"Yeah. I barely escaped from the younglings." Judy chuckled

"What about your partner? Has he had any trouble with them, of course except Blake?" her dad asked, waiting for the tea to brew

"Well, he didn't really has a chance yet, he went for a jog." the youngest bunny replied, pouring some water for her "What have you prepared for the festival, dad?"

"Well, if I told you about everything I could name nad name until tommorow." the male rabbit said "There are a lot of hooks. There will be a concert, a few rides and other stands typical for fun-fairs. I don't think you can imagine how much you can eat there though."

"Will there be any food for predators?" Judy asked

"Don't worry about that. I took care of it." her dad said, taking a sip of his tea

"You really made an effort to do it good, dad!" Judy said, slightly surprised and really impressed

"Oh, don't mention it." her father replied, although it could be seen that he liked to her praise coming from his daughter "It's nothing, I could do it a lot better."

"I'm sure it's great as it is dad." Judy said "I'm sure everyone will have a good time."

oooooooooooo

The door opened with a terrible screech, with two animals - a bunny and a fox entering.

They looked around the room. It certainly was not the best motel they saw, but both of them knew it was not the worst. The locals probably thought it could not get worse, but they were not the ones that had to sleep in Happytown motels. The paint could go off in some places and the wooden floor lack a few planks here and there, but it was surprisingly clean. Especially after a quick look at the furniture, way better than in any place like that they visited so far.

The bunny went in first, checking the bed. Not really soft, but she knew the floor would be less comfortable. She nodded with approval and motioned the fox to come in.

He did that, closing the door. He put both of their bags on the floor and opened his first. He put some of his perfectly folded clothes on the floor and pulled out a cardboard box. He put the clothes back in and opened the box, placing all of shotgun parts on the floor. A few minutes and it was ready to fire. The fox checked if it functioned correctly and nodded with approval. The only thing he loved more than his mate were good quality weapons.

"Short one." the bunny said, exiting the bathroom

"It's good." the fox told, flipping the safety on

"I know, silly." she replied, hugging him from behind "I better prepare the pistols then."

She went over to her bag and pulled out another cardboard box, that one bigger than the first. A few minutes and two pistols were ready to fire, one bigger than the other.

The fox gave her a harness, which she hid with the pistol. He did that too, putting the bag away. All was set. Their firearms were ready, their knives already on them. The bullets were on the very bottom of their bags, so they did not have to worry about that.

She jumped on him, pressing her lips to his. He replied immediately, lifting her up as he stood up. She asked for permission woth her tounge, which he granted as he laid her on the bed, doing the same thing right after her. Their tounges danced with each other as they begun to undress one another, interrupted by banging on the door.

They stopped, annoyed like they never were, the fox going to the door, snarling with his shirt half undone. Amanda sat on the bed on the other paw, her blouse already next to the bed.

The fox did not even have time to ask who was on the other side, when the lock turned and the door opened. They stared dumbfounded at the arctic wolf who walked in, the stabilizer on his knee visibly making ot more difficult.

"Bad time?" he asked, raising one of his brows

He had had a few situations like that, so he knew what was off even before he analyzed the room. The blouse next to the bed and the fox's shirt confirmed his suspicions.

"Is this important?" the bunny asked, knowing that all her boyfriend could do right now was to close the door and then just stand in the background with red ears

"I'd rather present the plan for you now. Doing it tommorow, while travelling would be harder. Besides, I have some studying to do." Dimitri explained

"Let's get to it then." Amanda said, picking up her blouse

She sat on the edge of the bed, putting it on, while Claus sat next to her. The wolf stood in front of them, collecting his thoughts. He always said it was better to say something after a while of thinking and do it fast rather than say something immediately three times longer.

"As you know night howlers are crucial to our organization. And our plans, as R states. We are going to lease some land and grow some crops there, with the flowers acting as a form of pest control." he begun

"And our role is ensuring your security?" the bunny asked

It would not be the first time. Even though they were far more experienced than anybody thought all their jobs were simple. A cover for a rainy day.

"Not really. Some of the smaller criminals over here formed a gang of some sorts. They may think we don't care. Our second goal is to take them out. You will gather intel about them and then we will strike." the wolf corrected

"Only the three of us?" Amanda asked, frowning

"They are as good as the ones back in Zootopia."

"Why did you need our help then?" she asked "I know." she added as the wolf pointedly looked at his knee "But you'd still beat the shit out of them."

"I know, but R did not agree." Dimitri explained "I know I should be thankful he cares for me, but this is a bit embarrassing."

They nodded. Indeed it was. Nobody in the Phoenix liked to be babysat.

"What exactly did he say?" the bunny asked

"That we should beat up some organizations." the Russian replied "But he said it in plural, while I've found one."

"Criminal?" the fox asked

"Yeah."

"But there are others." Amanda said "Mostly prey supremacists. Maybe he meant to give them hell too."

The wolf rubbed his chin as he thought.

"Probably." he said "I'll give you more informations later."


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

So it happened.

Second predator mayor of Zootopia, right after Lionheart. If George heard about that a month ago he would have laughed. But it was not so funny now.

Lionheart was elected only because Jones allowed him. It was very simple for many animals. The lion could not do anything, even yawn in his office without the zebra's approval.

Why would the zebra allow the predator to become a mayor? Nobody knew. Probably not even the Phoenix. But who knew what the zebra had in mind?

This time it was different. George became a mayor not because Jones allowed him, but because the Phoenix blocked the zebra. Hudson was free to do whatever he wanted to do, as long as he was still alive.

If they left him now he was as good as dead, same as his soulmate. Perhaps not at first, but for sure. Jones liked to toy with animals.

The wolf opened the door to his office. He took a few steps and touched his desk. His time to shine at last...

A movement to the left caught his attention. The wolf turned his head and saw them.

A grey wolf, two foxes, a dog and a lion. They stared at each other for a while and then the fox begun to laugh. The second one joined rather quickly and soon all of them were laughing their asses off.

"I... I have to say, you do know how to make a good speech." the lion said, wiping a tear in the corner of his eye

"Astonishing." the grey wolf agreed, chuckling

George did not know how to answer to that. He was about to, but someone behind him was faster.

"Enough. We're here for business, not a good time."

The mayor turned around and saw an arctic wolf, the same who got him out of the tight situation at the party a few days ago.

"It's you!" he said "I haven't had a chance to thank you-"

"Stop." the wolf said, raising his paw "You may not believe me, but it was just a begining. Vincent was just toying with you. He's insane. And now he's working with the crime bosses. Me not caring about you that night could be a better option, trust me."

George looked at the Russian, hoping that he was joking. But his face was very serious.

"I didn't catch your name."

"Danila." the canines shook paws "Although you should call me Rodriguez."

"Why?"

"It's safer that way. The federals believe in the twin theory and I'd like if it stayed that way."

"How?"

"Don't know. As long as they believe I'm fine with that and when they don't there would be no reason to find out."

"Oh. Okay. Where is the first one?" George asked

"Why do you care?" Danila asked "Trust me, the less you know the better. And it's easier to sleep that way."

George looked at the arctic wolf with uneasyness.

Nitro burst out laughing.

"Pure gold. I regret not recording the look on your face." he said

"Tishina." Danila barked, raising his paw "Let's get to the topic, shall we?"

"Okay." Hudson agreed "Please, take a seat."

Danila sat down, the mayor across him.

"You're still not safe." the Russian begun "Jones will not stop here. He's relentless. Dangerous. He will not let go, he has no other choice. Either all in or else he's dead."

"Is he so desperate?" the wolf asked "Will he attack a mayor?"

"It's do or die. No other option. He's too deep in this." Heinrich said

"So what, he doesn't pull the strings? Impossible. Who does then?" the wolf scoffed "Is this this ridiculous? Five animals pulling each others' strings?"

"Even here, even in this company I cannot tell you." Danila replied "They hear everything. They see everything. They can do everything without any consequences. And yes, it is like that."

George was terrified.

"I can see that you're not kidding. How do we deal with them?"

Danila chuckled.

"I just told you they hear everything and are above the law. Are you sure you want to mess with them? Now, when the criminals are going for our throat? We can't help you now."

"What?"

"Ah, forget it. We'll protect you. Do what you have to do. If it's too much, we'll let you know."

"Wait, you are leaving us alone? After- After what you said? And what will I do now?"

"Tikha. You and your girl are still under our protection. This guy" he pulled out a photo, with a black wolf on it "will be here." he gave the photo to the mayor "He'll be like a ghost. You'll know he's there, but he won't be seen."

"What is this photo for then?" Hudson asked, taking the photo

"For you. So you won't freak out if he comes and tells you to get out if the building." Danila explained "What you have to do now is to fulfill your promises. But leave Nocturnal District."

George nodded "Yeah, I already know that. Any tips?"

Danila scoffed "You're the politician here. All I can help you with is killing animals and injuring them."

"That does mean you will keep me safe?" George asked, hiding the photo

"Yes. You don't have to worry about nothing."

"Good. Really good."

"You did not think we'd really leave you alone after all that shit?" Daniel asked

"This city was left for the oligarchs for a long time." the mayor replied "I'm just making sure."

"If you need any proof for Jones and his colleauges, just tell me." Danila said, standing up "You won't get it alone and I'd be more than happy to make their lives worse."

"Now? Not possible."

"I like to hear your voice of reason." the Russian said, opening the door "But they have to be dealt with at some point. If we destroyed them now many would see them as martyrs of some sorts."

"This stuff you see only in nightmares." Peter commented, getting out of the room

"I can't express this better." Danila agreed "Look for opportunities. I already have some proof. Many do. Tamara Rose for instance."

"Is this a final goodbye?" Hudson asked, stading up, just after the last animal went out of the room

"Perhaps." Danila replied, taking a few steps towards the exit "We better hope so. It ain't safe for us both to be seen together." he leaned on the doorframe "It's a shame though. I'd like to talk with you eye to eye."

"Goodbye, Rodriguez."

"Goodbye, George. Good luck. You could use a lot of it."

oooooooooooooo

"What was that you said yesterday?" Judy asked, mocking the fox "A few wooden stands?"

Nick pursed his lips. He knew he would probably lose, but not in that scale. Judy's father surely took a lot of effort to organize that. Dozens, if not hundreds of stands covered a field, with bigger amusements in the middle. Nick could see a rollercoater, a ferris wheel and some more attractions. Maybe not the biggest festival he had ever seen, but it was really big.

"I think they are behind this big birthday party." the fox replied, turining to his bunny partner, to see her reaction

Judy giggled "That would be a big birthday party."

"It is!"

"Admit it, you don't want to wear that shirt, do you?" she asked

"I think it would've fit you better actually." he replied

"Yeah, if it only had a big arrow under the writing."

"Under what wri-"

Judy braked, making Nick hit the dashboard.

"Ouch. Smart bunny." he said, staightening

"Dumb fox."

"How do I keep falling for that?" he asked

"Maybe if you belted up, it wouldn't happen." Judy replied, accelarating

"Yeah, I think you're right." Nick agreed, putting on the seatbelt

A few minutes later she parked the car and they went out of the vehicle.

"I thought you'd make 4th of July big, but now I doubt it." Nick said as they entered the festival

It seemed like the stalls covered an infinite area, exceeding the field and going further. Occasional landmarks, like the ferris wheel, some amusements and a few rides only made the feeling more real. The fox and the bunny would probably lose the reference of time if they did not look at their watches with almost no stops.

"Don't you think it's a little too big?" Nick asked at some point

They had already walked for about three minutes and it seemed like they could walk a lot longer than that. The stands and the crowd only added up in numbers.

Judy chuckled "The population counter which you saw was a pun, but there is a lot of bunnies living over here. Besides, it only seems so big to you now. Festivals in Zootopia are way bigger than that."

"Some are, some ain't. Have your father organised all of this?" Nick asked

"Well... Most of it. It doesn't work that way. My dad has the biggest part, he gets to getting all the attractions and he's first when it comes to negotiating with the investors and possible leaseholders."

"Does he have a big competition?"

"We are the biggest family. Despite popular opinion bunny families are getting smaller and smaller each year, there are only two others that can compare to us in size."

"I guess one of them are Vances."

"Correct." the bunny nodded "The second are Houstons. Most of the fields are owned by us and those two. The rest, which is like three or four percent are owned by the rest, which is like a dozen or so families. The number is still decreasing and most of them work for the bigger fish."

"So are those only bunnies?"

"Mostly. Only one not-bunny family own one field. More of them live in the actual town." Judy kept explaining

"What about predators?" Nick asked, hoping that the conversation would not get as bad as he imagined

"It's way better than it was a while ago. Have you met Gideon already?" Judy asked, already knowing what Nick would answer

"No."

"We should look for him. I think you'll like each other."

"I always like animals that bake good pies. Aspecially blueberry pies."

"You'll love him then." Judy smiled

"I reserved that for somebody else."

"Really? The Nick Wilde I know only loves himself." the bunny teased

"Look at this." Nick said, pointing at himself "Is there anything you could hate?" he grinned

Judy smiled. She had to admit there was little. Only a few months of working out in the academy and Nick's posture was way better. His muscles were not huge, but they were noticeable under his fur. This and that russet shade of fur, with a little cream visible on his chest made his appearance truly desirable.

The bunny looked away, a little red on her ears after she realized how she had been looking at him. Nick seemed not to notice that though.

"Did you really spend so much time preparing for the academy?" the fox changed the topic, looking around a bit

"Nick, it was my childhood dream. I trained a lot. A hell of a lot."

"No free time at all?"

"Well... I might have exaggerated. I did spend time building these" she said, flexing her bicep "but I still had time for myself. Not a lot, but I made a few friends."

"Any boyfriends?" Nick smiled

"No. Bunnyburrow is pretty conservative, all they saw in me was a kit-making housewife. Besides there weren't many who really wanted a long and lasting relationship, rather a few minutes of fun in the barn."

"Those stereotypes don't come from nowhere, imma right?" Nick chuckled

"Yeah. Half of the boys who tried to move on me did not even care what I had to say. When I got to high school they already knew and nobody even tried. And then there was the academy and I simply did not have the time."

"Even for the shooting range?" Nick asked

"What was that supposed to be?" Judy frowned

Even a little bit of seriousness in Nick's voice meant that he indeed was serious. And she was sure she heard it now.

"Well, I've seen you shoot and you aren't that good." Nick claimed

"Have you seen me with a tranq gun?"

"I'm talking about real firearms, whiskers." Nick replied, stopping

"I don't plan on using them any time soon Nick. We're supposed to protect and serve, not to harm or kill." Judy said bluntly, crossing her arms on her chest

"Judy, I knew animals that wouldn't hesitate to put a bullet between somebody's eyes. And if it was a cop they would do it eagerly." the fox said, paving over he was once an animal like that

Judy sighed. That conversation cropped up from time to time and it was one of few things they could not agree with each other.

"Still doesn't change the face that your aim sucks." Nick got her out of her thoughts, continuing to walk

Just as she cought up, Judy looked around and spot a shooting range nearby.

"Nick, look over there." she said, pointing at the attraction "That's the only one place we could settle this."

"Your problem ain't BB guns, your problem are the firearms." Nick claimed, however the canine followed her there

Judy quickly read the prices and placed a ten dollar bill on a counter. If she bests her partner she would have a decisive argument. She knew Nick good enough to know it had a chance of success.

The rabbit behind the counter gave her a gas-powered glock replica and set up the targets.

The fox approached the stand and raised his brow.

"You are proving your point by winning a plushie?" the fox asked

Judy pressed the trigger, hitting the target near the center. Nine points.

"I'm proving my point by scoring a big number of points." she replied, shooting again "That's a ten."

Nick squinted, trying to see if she was right.

"I'd rather say it was nine and a half. You hit it near the line."

"No, I didn't." she replied, shooting yet again "Now it was a nine. I can't focus because of you!"

"It's not me." the fox stated "See? That was a ten."

Judy cursed under her breath as she made the last shot. Definitely an eight.

The prey behind the counter imperceptibly raised his eyebrows and Nick seemed not to hear that.

"Congratulations! You won a carrot pen!" the rabbit said, placing the reward on the counter and putting the replica away

Judy took the reward. It was the same oen she owned, only this one was brand new.

"My turn." the fox said, placing a ten dollar bill on the counter

The rabbit nodded and placed the gun in front of the fox, setting up a second target right after that.

Nick ignored a nervous glance the rabbit gave him. He had been treated worse and it was forgivable in that community.

"Come on Slick, you know how many points you'd have to get to beat my score?" the bunny asked, crossing her arms on her chest as the fox took the gun

Nick raised the gun and pressed the trigger five times, one after another, his finger going smoothly and all projectiles hitting the ten.

"More than fourty six." the fox replied, placing the replica back on the counter

"That's... Fifty." the rabbit behind the counter said, quite impressed by the speed the fox hit five tens with "You won a plushie!"

The fox picked his prize - a fox plushie - and walked away with the bunny and a smile on his face.

"You see, I won." the bunny said

Nick frowned "Did you? I am walking away with Nick Jr., not you."

"Nick Jr.?" Judy asked, chuckling

"That's a name I gave him." the fox smiled, showing her the plushie "It fits him perfectly."

"How can you tell?"

"He literally looks like me." Nick claimed "His clothes look like mine. He has the same colour on his belly."

Judy looked over at the plushie.

"Actually, you are right." she agreed

"Here." the fox said, handing the plushie to her "Maybe he could cheer you up when I'm not there."

"Are you sure?" Judy asked, taking the toy

"Yeah."

"Okay. Thanks."

The bunny and the fox kept walking for a while, not really looking for anything in particular. Their goal right now was to find Gideon, however they had the rest of the day and the night to do it, so they just wandered around, looking for anything that would interest them.

They slowly got into the centre of the festival, the place getting more and more crowded. It was not as bad as in Zootopia, but it was much for a place like this.

"Oh, I'm sorry." the bunny said after she bumped into someone

"It's alright." a female bunny replied, turning around

It was surprising to say the least. Nick opened his eyes wide when he realized she looked almost like Judy.

"Amanda?"

"Judy?"

That was the most unexpected thing that happened to the bunnies in a long time. It was not a bad surprise, though.

Judy gave her sister a hug, with a few tears in her eyes.

"It's been so long, sis... What happened?" Judy asked, after she let her go

"It's not really a story for this place." the older doe replied "And it's long, too. Who's your companion?" she asked, looking at Nick

"This is my partner, Nick."

"Nicke to meet you." the fox said, shaking her paw

He stopped a frown as he felt the strength of the female. She surely had a muscle, despite not showing that. And her appearance...

 _Could it be... No. Not here, the Phoenix has more important stuff to do._

"Nice to meet you too." Amanda smiled "Both ZPD, huh?"

"Yeah. What about you?" Judy asked

"Business trip. The negotiations are tommorow, so we went to the festival." her sister explained

"We?" Nick asked

He was getting more and more uneasy. Amanda being alone was not an option, but if she had someone with her the chances rose. It still was a small chance, but even a small chance was still a chance.

Amanda nodded and a second later a fox joined them, giving her a cup coffee.

"Thanks, babe." she said, giving him a kiss on the cheek "This is my boyfried, Claus." she said, turning to the duo

"Nice to meet you. Nick." Nick greeted the second canine, shaking his paw

They were a bit different. Claus was a bit smaller and looked thinner, but it was an illusion. He probably was way stronger than Nick, he just cut his fur way shorter. A second difference in their fur was the color. Claus' was darker and his belly resembled toffees more than cream. Another difference was their movement. Claus moved incredibly deftly and quietly all the time, while Nick preferred not to show what he can do all the time.

"Thanks, you too." Claus mumbled

Claus always looked for possible threats. Animals that were a danger. Since this moment he did not find one animal on that festival that could defat him. But now that was a possibility that there was one that could.

Claus knew Nick from hearsay mostly. They talked a little too, but that was mostly it. Normally he would just ignore the fox, but he knew Nick was trained by Rodriguez. And that was the main issue.

"He's not the talking type." Amanda explained

"How much does he say?" Nick asked

"Enough." the second fox replied

Now it was almost confirmed. That duo was most definitely who he thought they were. What surprised him though was how long they remained partners. If it were them.

"Boy, I met a lot of curt animals, but you are one of the curtest." Nick claimed

"And you talk a lot." Claus replied

"Every Ying has its Yang, imma right?"

"Then you must be bad at kicking ass."

"That's why you're here?"

"Security reasons."

"You can never be too careful." Amanda said

"That's true. You going somewhere specific, or just wandering around?" Judy asked

"We'll probably look for somewhere to eat soon. What about you?" her sister replied

"Well, we're looking for one guy, but we have a lot of time. Wanna go together?" Judy proposed

"Sure."

They went together, looking for a place to eat. It was not that hard, as food stands were the majority at the festival, but they all wanted to sit.

"Nice plushie." Amanda said "I guess you won it."

"Nick did. He's a real good marksanimal."

"Is he?" Claus asked, his eyes narrowing a little

His theory was coming together. A 'real good' marksanimal said by somebody from the ZPD meant something, even though the training the Phoenix provided created much better fighters. However 'real good' was more probable for a Phoenix-trained animal for a simple reason - Nick probably hid his real abilities.

"Yeah." Judy nodded

"I heard dad organized this year's festival." Amanda changed the topic

"He did. What do you think?" Judy confirmed

"Well I'm quite surprised that he actually cared about predator food too."

"Ain't that obvious?" Judy asked

"Come on, I know him."

"He's changed, Amanda. He really did."

"You weren't with me on the platform when we departed to Zootopia."

"That was fifteen years ago!"

"I know that. But some animals don't change."

"If dad didn't change he wouldn't allow Gideon a stand in one of the best places."

"Wait. Gideon Grey?"

"Who else?"

"I heard about his bakery opening not so far away from my place, but hearing this is confirmed is something else..."

"If he's changed dad could to."

"Not the same scale. Gideon was a jerk, not a speciest."

Judy sighed.

"I really can't confirm this to you, can I?"

"I've been too long in Zootopia to believe this. Anyways, you been to any of the rides yet?"

"Nope. We planned to do that later."

"We could go together after we have sometihng to eat, if you want."

"I have no problem with that. Nick?"

"Why not? I say let's go!"

"So it's decided. You know any place where we can sit and eat something?" Amanda asked

"I'd split up. You get some prey food, we get some pred." Claus proposed "And then we sit together."

"I am not so sure about that..." Judy said

"Don't worry Carrots. You two have fun." Nick replied

The bunnies and the foxes went in different directions, looking for something good to eat and a place to sit.

"You have anything particular in mind?" Nick asked Claus

"No."

"Well then, how about some local food? I heard some of them set up a place to sit nearby." Nick asked

"Ok."

Nick sighed "Are you an animal of action?"

Claus suddenly locked Nick's head in a triangle and pulled him in a space between two stands, without anyone noticing.

"They speak louder than words." the smaller fox growled, pinning Nick against the wall with a knife

Nick was terrified. He recognized Claus as one of the Phoenix members and prepared for a confrontation, but when he felt the lack of air in his lungs his mind failed, bringing him to the verge of panic.

 _It was a stupid fucking decision... Why did I make him go away?!_

Claus probably noticed the fear in Nick's eyes as he gave the canine more space.

"Shit Wilde, chill down. I didn't mean to scare you that much."

"You ain't the one with a knife on your throat." Nick snapped

"That 'o' makes a huge difference. Could be 'i'." Claus replied calmly

"Just tell me what you want."

"You know we ain't here for conventional business. Nor to have some fun. So stay out of it." Claus said firmly

"Seriously? You almost killed me just because of it?"

"You're with the ZPD dumbass. It's better to scare you off even if you suspected nothing than the opposite."

The knife disappeared even faster than it appeared as Claus turned around and begun to walk away.

"So, you gonna eat anything?"

ooooooooooooooooo

Judy and Amanda quickly found a nice place to sit, right after they got some food.

"Have you missed mom's dishes, Amanda?" Judy asked right after they sat

"A little bit." her sister replied, taking a bite of her veggie burger "Even I didn't know I was adaptable. Have you?"

"Yeah, first days were hard. Living only off microwaved junk food soon made me eat out way more often than I thought I would." Judy chuckled recalling her shoe box apartment

"Typical begging. Many other bunnies from here say the same. You knew how to cook at least. That's a head start."

"Only if you have a kitchen in your house."

"Well, that's another thing, for sure."

"What were you up to? From what I know you just disappeared on that trip. And now here you are, like nothing happened."

Amanda took a sip of coffee from her cup and replied.

"Well, you see I was kidnapped. I managed to escape and call dad, but we had an argument before I left he did not pick up and got caught again."

"My god, that's terrible..." Judy said, with her eyes wide

"You don't know the half of it. Anyways, they tried to turn me into a prostitute. I resisted. They left enough proof of that all over my body." her sister said calmly

"I- I'm so sorry-"

Judy could not believe the calmness of her sister.

"Don't be. You had no influence over this."

"How did you get out?"

"I- I honestly don't know." Amanda said, chuckling "One day a big boom woke me up. Cell doors were open so I just run out. Just how I was, only in my pajamas. Police found me and took me to our uncle Jared. He was furious after he heard what happened and allowed me to stay in his apartment. And that's it. My whole story. Fourth time I share it. What's yours?" she asked

"Well, comparing to yours it's pretty lame... Do you want the detailed version?"

"Sure. We have a lot of time."

Judy told her story, from the first day to the natural history museum. Amanda listened, slowly realizing who they came across. She made a mental note to ask Claus if he dealt with Wilde before, as she knew that the fox could be their only problem in the upcoming task.

"Sounds like the city would be a much worse place if not for that Wilde guy, right?" Amanda asked

"Yeah. It's only a year and we are already very close friends." Judy replied

"Do you believe in destiny?" Amanda asked out of a sudden

"Why?" Judy asked, fairly surprised

"Nothing, I just... I often think too much, I mean... Look, that whole missing mammals case was just a string of coincidences. Sometimes it's hard for me to believe that just happened, with nobody pulling the strings." she remained quiet for a moment and shook her head "Geez, enough of that philosophy. I'm getting old."

Judy chuckled "What about you and Claus?"

"More coincidences. I was working for that agricultural company and my boss assigned him to me. As you can guess my first impressions were negative and I just ignored him. We worked on our own and actually achieved quite a lot separately. But while we were doing that I slowly realized just how good and kind he was. He took extra jobs to grant me some more free time to spend more time with my friends, left me lunch and coffee. Then someday I apologized to him and we slowly build a relationship. What about you and Nick?"

Judy almost spat her drink all over the table.

"We're not together." she said, coughing

Amanda chuckled "Have you seen how he looks at you? I know you want him, I've seen it in your eyes."

Judy opened her mouth to disagree, but her sister was faster.

"Come on, admit it. I won't tell him."

"Fine. I do like him. I do want him. So what?" Judy asked

"So what? Tell him. You build your whole strong single woman look for too long now. I tried to do that too and guess what? Now, when I'm with Claus I'm truly happy. Others may discourage you. Tell you it's wrong. Innatural. Immoral. But look at me. Do I care?"

"I think you don't."

"Exactly. So if you had a plan for today - good for you. But if you don't you better think of one fast, because he won't be single forever. You wait too long and he's just gone."

oooooooooooooo

The bunnies and the foxes met a few minutes later, very close to the center of the festival.

"So, what do we do now?" Amanda asked

"We were looking for Gideon." Judy replied

"Well, time to see how much he's changed."

It did not take long to find the fox. His stand was just a few meters away from the place they met.

"Hi Gideon!" Judy greeted the baker

"Oh, hi Judy. Just give me a moment, I'll be right there." the baker replied

The plump canine motioned them to come behind his stand and led them to a small table, with a few chairs around, right behins his stand, next to his truck.

"Oh, hi Amanda. Didn't see you there." he greeted the bunny

"Hi Gideon. You really turned around, didn't you?" she replied, sitting on one of the chairs

"Well, yeah. Sorry for all the bullying back when we were young." the fox apologized

"Ah, forget it. Wasn't the worst thing that happened to me."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Who are they?"

"This is Claus, my boyfriend."

"Nice to meet you." Gideon said, shaking the vulpine's paw

The second canine muttered something back.

"He's not the talking type. Nick Wilde. Nice to meet you." the third fox said, shaking the baker's paw

"Gideon. Nice to meet you too." he sat on one of the chairs "So, what are you guys doing for a living? I know that Judy is a cop and that's all."

"We're working in agricultural business." Amanda said "Our company needs some land to test some new crop protection products."

"I'm Judy's partner in the ZPD."

"Well, what I do is baking. Speaking of which, are you hungry?" Gideon asked

"We ate a while ago." Amanda replied

"I could try some of that blueberry pie of yours." Nick said

"Sure. Just give me a moment."

Gideon got up and walked inside of his truck. He searched for something inside it and then went back, with a piece of a pie on a plate.

"Here you go." he said, handing the plate to the tallest fox

Nick took a bit and chewed for a bit. He nodded and swallowed.

"How the hell I am going to live without this back in the city, I do not know. It was delicious." he said, taking another bite

"Thanks." Gideon replied, visibly pleased by the comment

"Ain't you opening a bakery in Zootopia?" Amanda asked

"Yes, I am. It was a nightmare, but I'm sure it will be profitable in the end." the baker said, sitting down

"Where is it?" Nick asked, swallowing another bite

"Sahara square. 5th street, near that fancy park."

"Good place." Nick said

"Really?" Gideon asked, frowning

"Yeah. More predator families there. There are almost none predator owned businesses around there for a simple reason. Mostly prey live there and they are very reluctant to visit such places." Nick explained

Claus cracked up "Irony..."

"Yeah, those are the same who claim most predators are speciest and want to eat them all. You are in a pretty lucky area, if you owned that bakery there the second day your windows would be broken by some bricks. For a very simple, yet disgusting reason." Nick continued

"Jesus. And you guys live there?" Gideon asked with disbelief

"Ad long as we pass by they seem to ignore us. But still, this is a serious issue and if it's not solved soon there will be blood." Nick replied

"Got a little dark here..." Gideon commented, feeling a small shiver on his back

"World isn't a nice place." Claus said

"Anyways, I should get back to my stand. Sorry guys, but I have to work." Gideon said, after he recieved an SMS

"No problem. You got a pretty good place, by the way." Amanda replied

"Yeah, thanks to Mr. Hopps." Gideon said, getting up

"My dad gave you that spot? No way."

"He's changed. Honestly, I wouldn't have recognized him if I were you too."

"That's different..."

"You'll get used to it."

"Yeah, I guess... Bye."

All four of them went back where they came from and stood on the side.

"We got that part done. What do you want to do now?" Amanda asked

"Well, I was thinking about checking out the rides." Judy replied

"Sounds good for me. Claus?"

"Ok."

A few minutes and they were there. The rides consisted of a ferris wheel, a small rollercoaster and a few other ones.

One thing that made them change their minds was the amount of animals there.

"Welp, I'd go somewhere else." Nick said

"I approve of that one." Claus agrees

"The only question is when are the fireworks." Amanda looked at her watch "We still have like two hours."

"How about we get to that concert?"Judy asked

"What are they going to play?" her sister asked

"Country and some rock." Judy replied

"Sure. Sounds fun." Amanda nodded

Just as they were halfway there Amanda's phone rang. She excused the company and rejoined them after a few minutes.

"Sorry guys, but we have to go." she said, hiding her phone "There's an unexpected issue we need to take care of."

"Oh. No problem. I'm glad we met." Judy replied, giving her sister a hug

"I'm sorry, but there's no other way." Amanda replied "We may meet later in the city if you want."

"Ok. I'll give you call. Bye!" Judy said, waving goodbye to her sister

oooooooooooooooooo

Claus hit the gas almost immediately. That tree may have fallen out of nowhere, but his reflexes were too good.

"That doesn't look normal." Amanda said, opening the glove compartment and pulling out NV googles

She placed them on her eyes and switched to thermal vision. Her ears kept rotating like radars while she tried to hear anyone who could make that tree fall.

Some muffled grunts came from the trunk after a while.

"He's awake." Claus said, pulling out his pistol

He pulled the slide, checking if the bullet was in the chamber. Satisfied by the result he put the gun on the holster and chceked his knife.

"Got anyone?" he asked checking the blade's sharpness

"A few silhouettes behind the vegetation. My best guess are bunnies." his girlfriend replied, still scanning their surroundings

Claus sighed after he heard a loud thud from the trunk.

"You think they're here for him?" he asked, hiding the knife

"We just got him. If they saw the kidnapping they would react there, on the parking lot."

"And probably would've had some lead in 'em." Claus assumed, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel

"Do you have a plan?" Amanda asked, putting the goggles back to the glove compartment

"Where exactly are they?" her partner replied

"Two on our ten, behind that bush. One on our eleven, hiding in the tall grass. Three on our one."

"This will be easy." Claus said, opening the door "Follow my lead."

The fox got on the ground and slowly walked towards the concealed group of three on his left. Amanda quickly followed, catching up to him when he was halfway there.

Just as she caught up to him all of the concealed animals stood up. All of them were bunnies, wearing shorts and t-shirts, in various colours. They also had some melee weapons, consisting of bats, crowbars and knuckles.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me." Amanda muttered

The bunnies begun to walk towards them, swinging their weapons casually.

"Hello, fuckheads." one of them said "We've been watching you and decided you need a bit of guiding."

"Fucking disgusting." another one added "Don't worry, we'll get that ideas out of your heads, pelt. You don't worry sweetie, after a fun time with us you're gonna know bunnies are way better."

Claus begun to growl. He reached for his gun, ejected the magazine and the bullet in the chamber and then threw the pistol away.

That surprised the aggressors. They stopped for a while, but continued to make their way towards the duo after a while.

"Holy fucking shit." Amanda said as another one emerged from behind the fallen tree

He stood shocked as he looked at the couple and ran towards them and the attackers.

"Guys, guys, stop!" he whispered "We can't do that, it's my sister!"

"Too bad." the one that spoke first replied "You'll just have to made do without a fun time."

"I won't let you do it to her, Ronald!"

"Yeah, like you could do anything." the one closest to him replied, turing to face the buck "Better go the fuck away now Clyde, before we beat the shit out of you."

"Oh, so that's where your brotherhood goes when one of you has had enough? Cute." Amanda mocked

"You know him?" Claus asked quietly

"It's my brother." his girlfriend replied, feeling a little ashamed by her sibling

"Will he manage?" the fox asked

"Well..." Amanda twisted her face as her brother got hit by a bat "I doubt it."

Three hits were enough. The buck just fell on the ground and stayed there, visibly in pain.

"So boys, let's get going!" Ronald exclaimed

All six of them walked closer to the couple. A few meters away from them Claus made the first move, dashing towards the first one, wielding a crowbar. The fox grabbed the weapon and yanked it from the prey grip. He did not stop there. His next move was to trip push the bunny over and hit him in the head with the crowbar, knicking the animal out.

The other bunnies took their time to react, letting the fox prepare for the next one. Two of them slowly moved closer to him, one of them with a bat and the second one with knuckles on his paws. This time Claus wanted them to go first. But it did not happen, as Amanda stepped in, kicking the one of Claus' right on the side of the knee. All of them heard a disgusting sound of bone cracking as the aggressor fell on the ground, crying in pain. Amanda grabbed his bat and kicked him in the face, making him let go of the weapon.

The bunny with the knuckles did not think much, jumping at her with a primal scream. It was cut immediately when Claus hit him in the ribs.

Amanda took a step back and stood side by side with Claus, watching as the three remaining bunnies - Ronald, the one that beat up her brother and the one that spoke second looked at them with doubt and a little bit of fear.

"Let's fucking get them!" Ronald yelled

All three rushed them at the same time, hoping to get an upper paw. It did not go as planned.

The first one attacked Amanda with a bat from above. She just blocked it rising her bat and supporting the second end with her paw. When both bats connected she just kicked the bunny in the solar plexus and finished him off with a swing to the head.

Meanwhile Claus got under a furious storm of swings. Both bunnies attacked him without stopping, one with his bat, the second one trying to land a hit with his knuckles. Then, out of nowhere the fox deflected the bat with his crowbar, grabbed the bunny with the knuckles with his left paw and rammed into the bunny wielding a baseball bat with his shoulder, while throwing the one with the knuckles behind him.

The bunny let go of his bat and tried to get up, but Claus quickly put him down with a powerful swing on the face. The bunny fell on the ground, spitting teeth and blood.

Amanda slowly walked towards her brother and helped him sit. He took a few swings on the face, but it was not that bad. She had seen worse wounds.

"Looks like you could use a lot of ice." she said, inspecting his wounds "We'll have to stich that up." she gently touched one of the cuts

Her brother's face blanched as he saw a giant cut on his browridge, with blood still weeping out of the wound.

"Jesus..." he said, with a bit of panic in his voice

"Don't worry, it could've been worse."

Claus crouched next to them and opened a medkit he just took from their car. He opened a bottle of water and poured some of the liquid over the buck's face. Then he took some gauze and wiped the blood.

"Lie on your side." he ordered

Clyde did as he was told and a second later the fox sewed the cut.

"Thanks. I really don't know why you did this after I partook in this." the buck said

"I am a hypocrite to say this, but you can't cure violence using violence." the fox replied "Done."

"Do I go to the hospital?" Clyde asked, his voice full of concern

"Claus knows how to do this." Amanda replied

"Oh. Do you?"

"Yeah. Not that hard. Come on, I'll help you stand up." his sister said, moving her arm under his

Amanda lifted her brother up. He tried to stand on his own, but due to the hits against his head he almost fell back on the ground.

"Oh god... My head... I- I think I really need to go to the hospital." he said with his voicr shaking

"Not now. Getting the police involved will be bad." Amanda replied, helping her brother walk to their car

"What are you doing here?" Clyde asked

Claus opened the trunk and pulled the tied up coyote out. The captive tried to resist, but fox's fist quickly reassured him that was not a good idea.

"What happened?" Amanda asked as she helped her brother to sit in the back seat

"Bastard woke up and almost broke the tape." Claus replied, using a roll of silver tape to tie the coyote up again

"What the hell are you guys doing?" the buck asked, visibly worried

"You sure you want to know?" Claus replied, not even bothering to look at the bunny

The fox went to the unconscious bunnies and tied all of them up, one by one. Just as he was about to finish, walking towards the thrown bunny the prey dashed forward and grabbed the pistol and the magazine Claus threw earlier.

"Stay the fuck back!" the bunny screamed, sliding the magazine into the gun

Claus just kept on walking, cracking his knuckles.

"One more step and I put a bullet in you!" the bunny threatened

The fox did not stop, getting so close to the rabbit that the smaller begun to move backwards. The bunny finally pressed the trigger, a few seconds before the fox would have got him.

An empty metallic click. No bullet in the chamber meant no shot. Now it was a matter of seconds and the fox had the upper paw.

 _BANG!_

Claus turned around, pulling out a throwing knife and moving his arm back, in order to take down the new threat.

"Why you so jumpy, Klaus?" the arctic wolf asked, with smoke coming from his pistol's barrel

The fox put the knife behind his belt and turned to the bunny again. Even though the entry wound only made a hole just a little bigger then an eyehole the exit wound exploded the back od bunny's head, making a bloody mess on the ground behind the animal.

Claus picked up his gun and the bullet and then pulled the slide, making the gun ready to fire. He put it in the holster then.

"So what, we just leave the body here?" Amanda asked, approaching the wolf

"Of course not! I'm gonna call Ian and he'll take care of it. The body, the witnesses and your brother."

Clyde looked at the wolf with his eyes wide and then checked his escape options.

Dimitri chuckled.

"Blyad', you really are shitting your pants, ain't ya? Don't worry chuvak, you all will be let out. After the job is done. It's not like you ever could prove anything to us. Okay, move it. Ian will clean this up, but we need to get the more important ones and listen to what they have to say."

oooooooooooooooooooo

"I don't think it's a good idea." Nick said

"Don't worry, we won't bump into anything." Judy reassured him, guiding him up the hill

They spend some more time at the festival before she decided it was the time. She wanted to surprise him and show him her favourite place in Bunnyburrow so she guided him there with a blinfold on his eyes.

"You saying that made it way more imaginable."

"It's not a long way from here."

"Whatever you say, boss."

"Aaand we're here!"

Nick removed the blindfold. The view was astonishing. A big lake, with a forest behind it.

"What is this place?" he asked, clearly impressed by the view

"I found it when I was little. Probably the best view around." Judy explained, sitting on the blanket

Nick sat down on the blanket. Judy did not know how, but she was sure that the moonlight made him even more handsome.

 _Come on Wilde, it's the time._ He thought, hiding his stress. _Just do it, tell her how you feel._

Nothing happened. No matter how hard he tried, he was not able to open his mouth and say it.

 _Oh, come on! You can do it. You can do it. You can-_

"Nick?" Judy asked with unsure voice, getting him out of his thoughts

"Yeah?" he asked

His chance was gone. If he could not say that then he never would.

She moved right next to him.

"There's something I wanted to tell you."

"I'm all ears." he replied, trying to stop the tears

"Nick, I... I-I think I-"

She could not say it. The words got stuck in her throat. Yet that was the best place and time. If she could not say it she would show it.

Nick opened his eyes wide when Judy kissed him. His brain tried to process what had just happened as world around him disappeared. It was only him and the rabbit.

He closed his eyes and deepened the kiss. He felt Judy's surprisal, but she did not oppose.

After what felt like blissful eternity they broke the kiss, gasping heavily.

"I love you Nick."

Victoria.

All his doubts, all the fears gone.

He grabbed her and kissed her again. Fireworks set off in their minds, they had butterflies in their stomachs, the world gone again, with only them.

The second kiss lasted shorter then the first one.

"I love you too, Judy." he replied, with a giant smile on his face

She giggled "I figured."

Nick chuckled and gave her a hug.

"How long have you felt that way?" he asked

"Ever since we became partners. But I only realized it during spring and that was why I was so afraid to tell you that." she explained, hugging him bac

She closed her eyes. He felt so warm and fluffy...

"I can't even imagine how bad you felt."

"It's all over now."

Nick hugged her tighter. It was finally true. He and Judy together.

He felt tears of happiness in his eyes flow down his cheeks. He dis not wipe nor stop them. He did not care.

"Nick are you... Crying?" she asked, a little concerned

"I think I am." he replied, but with a happiest voice she ever heard

She hugged him tighter. No words had to be spoken.

"Are you ready for the fireworks?" she asked quietly, hoping that moment would last forever

"There will be fireworks?" Nick asked

"Yeah. What time is it?"

"Half past ten." he informed, after a glance at his watch

"Any second now."

After they turned to the festival, rather far away from them the show begun. The fireworks were nothing special, compared to many other Nick saw, but they still were good quality.

The show was over after a quarter.

"What do we do now?" Nick asked after a bit

"Do you want to be my boyfriend?" Judy asked

"Who wouldn't?"

Judy smiled and gave him a kiss.

"Are we gonna reveal it though?" Nick asked, getting serious

"What do you mean?" Judy asked, frowning

"You have no idea how hard the society stomps on interspecies couples." her new boyfriend replied

"Since when do you care about that?"

"Since I saw an interspecies couple got beaten almost to death. Most of them hide. Isolate. Those who don't don't last long out there."

"But you can contact those couples, can't you?" Judy asked, with a new idea forming in her mind

"What do you have in mind?" Nick asked

Judy yawned.

"I'm pretty tired now. I'll tell you tomorrow. Let's head back home."


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

The office was ruined. The desk was turned over, the wallpaper torn off, the chairs broken and the paintings on the floor. Thr only thing that was left intact was the couch.

Jones dragged the cigarette and blew a smoke ring. The wind coming from the cracks on the windows ruined it though. The zebra spat on the floor, sighed and extinguished the smoke on the couch.

He stood up, walked towards the window and watched the skyline of Zootopia. He got used to it, but as always he had to admit it was impressive. Skycrapers slowly getting lower and lower until they became apartment houses and single-family homes.

He hit the window out of the sudden, feeling another rage attack coming. He knew even if most of the failure was the fault of his incompetent colleagues he still did most of it by not replacing them with more competent staff. But how was he supposed to do that with no threats towards them?

 _I could make one up. I could scare them and make them give me more power... Shit, all is gone now._

Siddenly, the door opened and a ram walked in. He looked around the office and raised his brow, turning his head towards the zebra.

"Overdose?" he asked "You continue snorting in those quantities and then all that is left of you will be some fucking mash on the street below."

"Nah, I just got fucking angry." Jones replied, turnjng around "Those fuckheads keep screwing up like the brainless buckets of shit they are. This... Countinues and we're all in big fucking trouble."

"If they think Black will sleep during his term they are bloody retarded." the ram agreed, picking up a chair "How the fuck did this happen? Pawson is dealt with already, isn't he?"

"I watched him bleed to death in my own cellar. That were the other bastards in the council, apparently fucking blind when Hudson got elected, but now they keep whining about it like the little bitches they are." the zebra said, searching for something in a drawer

He pulled out a plastic bag filled with coke.

"Didn't you have enough?" the ram asked, looking around the office

Jones chuckled, prepairing three lines of the white poweder. He snorted the first and rapidly stood upright right after he finished.

"Yeah! WHOOO! THAT'S the stuff!" he exclaimed "Want a line?"

The ram sighed, but took the rolled bill from the zebra and snorted the next line.

"Gah!" the ram shook his head "That Perry's shit?" he asked, placing the bill on the table

"Why?" Jones asked, chuckling as he saw the ram react to the drug

"Kicks stronger than usual. Phew! What about the crime bosses?" the ram asked, sitting on the chair he placed a while ago

"What about them?" Jones asked, frowning

"Weren't we supposed to get them to scare off Hudson?"

"I tried. Went to shit, cause fucking Phoenix ain't that stupid. Offered him protection." Jones explained and snorted the last line "You got another plan?"

"The fuckers screwed us yet again." the ram sighed "I thought to kill Hudson, but if the Phoenix are with him then it's a pipe dream."

Jones laughed "They'd beat the assasin even before we fucking called him!"

"Yep. Do you have any other option?"

"Nope." the zebra lied

"Anyways, the fuckheads want to meet and talk what to do now." the ram said, getting up

"More like wait for me to get an idea." Jones replied "Gimme a minute, I need to change my clothes."

After some time both of them went to the conference room. All the other seats were already taken by other members of the prey rights concil, who bitterly argued with each other.

"I'm telling you all, if we want to act we need to do it now!" one of them, a beaver, belligerently quarreled with a hippo

"And how would we do that?" the biggest animal asked

"Just eliminate Hudson and we're all good." a pig sitting next to the beaver replied

"That's a stupid fucking idea." Jones said, crossing his arms on his chest

Everyone turned to the zebra. A few scoffed.

"You should've been fixing this." a deer said

"I told you to secure the count, but no. You apparently don't care. And why would you? I mean, it's only a fucking guy that openly says we're the cause of trouble in the city." Jones replied

"Look at you, so fucking smug... You had bigger issues, like fucking Pawson." an antelope said, his voice filled with sarcasm

"Do I need to remind you who exactly did not care when Black became a chief in precinct one?" Jones asked

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, keep talking that's all you're good at. If you know so much what do we do then?" the deer asked

The zebra opened his mouth, but the screen on the wall turned on and the face of a ram appeared on it.

"The fuck, MacArthur?" the antelope said

 _I'm sorry for interrupting your meeting, but I had to. Don't leave your phone muted Jones._

The zebra scoffed "What is it? You finally contacted the mob?"

 _Actually I did, but that's not the reason I call you._

Jones just sat on his seat, blinking as he tried to process what the ram just said.

"Wait a second. You contact the fucking mob and tell me that by the by? By the fucking by? Without even contacting me?" he asked, feeling anger fill him

 _As I said-_

Jones stood up, pissed off.

"Let me explain this to you, because it seems you are fucking oblivious to what you do. I'm as deep in this shit as you and your boss are, yet you don't care and risk everyone without even briefly discussing this with me. You jump in, head first, because why would you want my contacts, my trusted animals? My fucking tips!?"

The ram remained quiet as the zebra panted through his nose, pissed off more than anyone in the room had ever seen. It was then when they realized Jones was way more dangerous than they anticipated.

The zebra took two deep breaths, corrected his tie and sat back down.

 _A few days ago_ _, during a meeting between my associate and the mob we got a proposition._

"Not only you did not tell us about this shit with the mob, but you have no problems with new guys joining in, do you? Fucking idiot." the deer mocked

"Takes one to know one." they heard a vioce coming from the entrance

Everyone turned to the second entrance. They saw a lynx, quite bigger than usual. The first detail about him that caught their attention was two leather military grade boots. Other than that he wore usual clothes. A pair of jeans and a hoodie, but with a kevlar vest on it.

"Are you kidding me? A fucking lynx joins our plot to fuck predators over?" the deer asked,

"I fucked predators over while y'all were busy drinking tropical shots on Hawaii." the feline replied

"Guards, get him out of here." the hippo said

The first guard approached the lynx and tried to grab his shoulder, but Vincent just grabbed his hoof and pulled it, tripping the guard over in the meanwhile. The prey hit the ground with his chin hard, with a loud crack. The second guard rushed him with a baton, but the lynx was ready. He stopped the bat, placed his paw on the ram's shoulder and hit him in the stomach with the knee. Twisting his arm around the prey's the lynx shot his legs forward, used the arm as a hinge and landed sitting on the back of ram's neck. His weight made the prey fall on his knees. The feline yanked the baton out of the ram's grip and taking a step back hit the guard in the face.

The rest of the guards stopped halfway to the feline and reached for their pistols. But Vincent was faster. The lynx drew two P225s and quickly put the guards to the eternal sleep with them.

The animals behind the table were all shocked. Maybe even scared. Well... Except one. Jones just sat on his chair, with a little smile on his face. He slowly begun to clap, chuckling a bit.

All the other council members looked at him wide-eyed.

"How can you be so fucking calm? He's about to kill us!" the antelope exclaimed, standing up

"Sit."

The lynx spoke one word, but so firmly and coldly that it was enough to scare the animal even more. He slowly sat, quietly praying to get out of that situation in one piece.

The lynx slowly walked in front of the screen, his steps echoing through the conference room. Jones finally stopped clapping, waiting for MacArthur to speak.

"So, you had your show?" the lynx asked, crossing his arms on his chest

The ram remained silent for a while.

 _Wait for me in Jones' office. Both of you._

oooooooooooo

The situation in the office was... Awkward to say the least. The zebra and the ram sat behind the desk, while the lynx laid on the couch, doing tricks with a butterfly knife.

Jones looked at his watch. It was already an hour. MacArthur should be there any moment now.

"Come on, do it. I've seen you eyeing that drawer since we got here." the lynx spoke out of nowhere, chuckling a bit

"What do you-" Jones tried to asked, but the lynx cut him off

"Oh, I know you snort coke like you were a Columbian hooker. Come on, just do it. It's not like I'm gonna snitch on you or anything."

"You want a line or something?" the zebra asked

"The only drug I take is this." the lynx replied, tossing a syringe on the desk

Jones raised his eyebrow as he picked it up and saw it was filled with blue liquid. He sighed. If he had to be honest he did not except anything different.

The door opened and a second ram walked into the room.

"Hello Bruce. How are you doing?" he asked, walking in

"I have seen better days." the first ram replied

"What about you, Jones?" MacArthur shook his hoof with the zebra

"Well, I am not happy you contacted the mob without telling me. We're all in this. They pull out one guy - everyone else gets it too." Jones replied, his voice and eyes cold

"Understandable." the ram looked at the lynx and leaned across the table "What about that guy?"

"What about him?" Jones asked

"Is he trustable? Or at least professional?"

"He is very good. Could be Phoenix level, even. About trust... I can see he wants to achieve his goal and as long as our goal are the same as his he will help us. The problem is I don't know what his, or even yours goal are!" Jomes replied

The lynx chuckled "You serious? Damn, so you did not act back there, did you?"

"What did you think that was?" the zebra asked

"An act to make the others shit themselves." Vincent said

"Would actually make a lot of sense if they were anywhere close to being useful. The only reason most of them are still intact is because their fathers would skin me alive if i even thought about touching them." Jones complained

"Yet you killed the guy a few days earlier." Vincent said

"That guy, Pawson, he was nothing. And I had a pretty good cause."

"That's why I'm here." Vincent said and sat on the couch "I don't have to listen to anyone you listen to."

"Yeah. You already know the plan?" Jones asked

"You want to kill the Phoenix."

"A very simple way to put this, but yeah." MacArthur said "Your goal is-"

"Whatever you planned, it's not gonna work." Vincent interrupted him "Leave all the plans you had and let me do the work, will you?"

"I don't think you know who are you talking to." the ram hissed

Vincent laughed and stood up "Oh, I do. Some old prick that sucks his boss' cock and does everything he says." he walked over to the ram "You are similiar to the fuckheads Jones has to deal with. He gave you a task you cannot accomplish. He knew this from the start. This is phase two of his plan. Bellwether was first. Now you. He wants you to fuck up before you even begin. And then, slowly, through all of the other incompetent animals he will leave only a few and manipulate the evidence so that it looked like the predators were staging this all along. That is his plan. Sure, it will take decades. But in the end his goal will be achieved." the lynx turned to Jones "Ain't that right?"

MacArthur looked at the zebra, angry as hell, hoping to see anger on his colleague's face as well, but what he saw was shock and awe.

Jones was certain only Igorovich knew all along. He never assumed the wolf would let anyone like this live, which meant only one. Vincent was very close, or even on the wolf's level.

"You gotta be shitting me." MacArthur said through clenched teeth

"Actually, you were the only guy that they would miss." Vincent said "You ain't retarded and know how to manage yourself well. But they need an example. They need to show that more of the elites were in this and that even they can be forced to help in the big conspiracy they are faking."

Jones looked at the ram sitting next to him "If he's willing to help we may be able to enact plan A." he whispered

"That is an option." the ram nodded

"What I can't figure out yet is what Bellwether role in all of that was." the lynx turned to the zebra "I know Gabriel was supposed to begin Phoenix destabilization. But Dawn? That one is a pickle. Either introduction, infiltration or a test."

"All of those." Jones replied, mumbling

The zebra shook his head and cleared his throat "Okay, what's your plan?"

"You want to destabilize the Phoenix." the lynx ascertained "But the way you decided to do this is just stupid. A frontal assault is comparable to ramming your head against a wall made out of fucking concrete. A few hits and you're in the hospital under intensive care. The same is happening in real life. You disrupt their operations two things happen. First, all their members get in their main hideout and that could very well be the end. They fortify there and game over, ein Ende für das Reich. You won't poke them out and even if you do they will retreat into the caves. While the ZPD shoots you in the back."

"So what do you propose?" the zebra asked

Vincent smiled and clasped his paws "My plan is founded on three things: chaos, ZPD immobility and Phoenix interests. To defeat the Phoenix you can't be distracted. And ZPD reacting to you trying to take heavily fortified Phoenix outposts is a very bad distraction. So what we do is we immobilize the ZPD first. They will react to us destroying the Phoenix because we break the law, but the Phoenix won't react to us destroying them. It's not in their interests. When we immobilize the ZPD we take Phoenix outposts on the surface and leave them in Nocturnal District."

"How does that kill them?" MacArthur asked

"Here's where the chaos part kicks in. We use your pellets on the animals in the city and destabilize it. We cause riots, mass shootings, gang wars. With that the Phoenix needs to send their animals to defend their territory. We eliminate those patrols. After they stop sending them we attack their hideout. With their mammalpower low they have no chance but to perish."

"This all sounds easy to do." Jones said "But implementing it requires some work. How do you plan to do that?"

"ZPD is easy to stop. All you have to do is to introduce chaos and kidnap Hopps. This is really all there is to it."

"What about the chaos part?" Jones asked

"The city is already soaked with gasoline. I will pour some more and then throw a lit match onto it."

Jones opened his mouth.

"Start shooting predators again." the lynx said, answering the question before it was asked "Pay or find a prey that shouts radical slogans. Wait until he is recognizable and predators hate him, then target prey as well. Find or pay a predator that does the same, only reversed. When their conflict is in its climax reveal that the predators were shot by somebody paid bt the radical prey and the prey were shot by somebody paid by the predator. All you do then is watch the riots and purges."

The faces of the prey between him had mixed emotions.

MacArthur was happy. Sure, a lot of prey would be hurt, or maybe even killed, but in the end the predators would get it.

Jones was disturbed, although he quickly returned to his usual poker face. Vincent did not care what he thought, at least for then.

The last ram... He just sat, unamused as he always was.

"Any more questions?" the lynx asked, looking at the prey

Silence followed.

"I'll see you soon then."

"Will you take care of the plan?" the quiet ram asked

"You don't worry about that Jones." the feline replied

The lynx left the room, leaving the three eith their thoughts.

oooooooooooooo

Danila looked at the four animals in front of him and evaluated their combat readiness yet again.

Heinrich was probably the most reliable of them all, excluding Danila. His combat experience was big and his training very good. Dan knew it since he trained the German himself.

Natasha, a big brown bear from Russia was behind the wolf only a bit. She joined a few years after him, but quickly caught up with Heinrich's group, which resulted in a competition between her and the wolf. If Danila did not know them he could assume it would lead to some problems, but as he carefully watched them train he knew it would not disrupt the teamwork.

Max and Gerard were a lot different from the first two though. Well... The anthelope not that much, but the lion.

Dan worked with the antelope before but the lion was about to partake in a first action like that. Even though with the given training the lion could easily manage the wolf just did not like throwing anybody in at the deep end.

There was no other choice though. If Danila could he would have taken Jack or Bucky, but neither the cheetah or the buck were available at the moment.

"You all ready?" Danila asked

Of course they were. All of them in the advanced combat armour and the thermoactive suits underneath the clothes. boots on their feet. Backpacks filled with ammunitions, grenades, rations and medication. Gear strapped to tactical rigging. Heinrich's G36, Natasha's KPV, Max's and Gerard's M4 all clean and ready for action.

"Affirmative." all of them confirmed

"Jump... Okay. Get in the car, I'll tell you the details en route." the wolf ordered and took his duffle bag

After everybody were inside an armored SUV the engine started and the car moved.

All the animals inside sat on a bench welded to the wall and looked at Danila, waiting for him to tell the plan.

"A few days ago" the wolf begun "Peter and Daniel spied on the crime bosses of Zootopia. Normally I wouldn't care, but the meeting was interrupted by someone. It was Vincent."

"Verfluchte Scheiße!" Heunrich cursed

"Da, eto ne khorosho..." Natasha said, rubbing her chin

"I ask for an explanation." Max requested "All I know is that he is a dangerous motherfucker and Gerard probably knows even less."

"Okay." Danila replied "Vincent Lee is a lynx. Age 36, never married. Coloration standard, maybe a little darker shade of gray. Also visibly taller than an average lynx. His combat experience... Well, here it's getting interesting. Way faster than anyone here, me included. We can say he makes up his lack if strength with it. He probably is the only animal around that may be able to defeat me in a fair fight. He keeps a gang of followers around, animals that he trained. Just like me. Only difference is that he works alone."

"So a dangerous individual with a group of followers has interrupted a meeting of criminal bossed and it looks like they made an agreement?" Max asked "I just want to confirm what I think."

"Yeah. Our goal is to gain some intel. What is he planning with the pellets MacArthur gave him. I guess you all know about that already."

All four animals nodded.

"We'll get to my informer. You don't know him, you don't remember him. Is that clear?"

Everyone nodded again.

"Good. We stop near a bar in Nocturnal district. Exit right side, combination dice five. Me and Heinrich open, Natasha covers, Gerard and Max close. Max, you are the grenadier. Setup inside is simple, there's space from the door to the barman, wooden tables and chairs around. Small chance of hostiles inside and as long as we don't shoot they won't shoot back. We get to the barman, I show him what I want and he gets us to my informer. No intel on how and where, so we'll have to improvise from there. As far as I know there should be no threats, but I don't have the clear picture so don't let your guard down. Is everything clear?"

"Ja."

"Yup."

"Affirmative."

"Da."

"Good. After the information is given we go back. We'll plan our next moves later." Danila said

"We're arriving in five minutes." the driver said

All the animals put their gas masks on.

"Switch to the comlinks." Danila ordered, his voice muffled by the mask _How do you copy?_

 _I'm hearing you a-ok boss._ Max said _Does everyone hear me alright?_

 _Copy._ Heinrich said

 _Got you loud and clear, hear me?_ Gerard asked

 _Yeah._ Natasha confirmed

 _Put your game faces on, folks. We're going in._ Danila ordered, positioning with Heinrich near the door

"Any orders for me?" the driver asked

 _Stay here._ Danila replied right before the door opened

First, two wolves. Rubber undersoles made no sound as they landed on the street and made their way to the bar, Danila watching the left and Heinrich the right. The duo sticked to the wall and then the rest went out, first Natasha eith her LMG and then the lion and the anthelope.

Not witnesses on the street. As soon as the wolves got out they all hid, probably watching the situation from there.

Danila kicked the door to the bar and went in, followed by his team. All the animals inside froze, trying to process what was happening. But as long as they do not attack them they would stay neutral.

Danila made his way to the barman and put a king of spades on the counter. The weasel took the card, look at it and placed it back, moving to staff only part of the bar.

Danila took the card and gestured his team to follow him as he made his way after the weasel. All five animals went in the kitchen and inside the freezer, following the barman.

"Identity checks." the weasel said, opening a hidden cache

 _Masks off._ Danila said, removing his M50

The weasel hit a button inside the cache and pointed at a security camera.

Danila nodded as he felt the asking looks on his back. All of them turned their faces to the camera and waited.

A few seconds later they saw a big hidden door open, right in front of them. Danila looked at the weasel, who nodded. After that he went in, inside a rather big elevator.

Just after everyone got in the weasel hit another button and the door closed. Right after that happened the elevator moved down.

"Masks on." Danila ordered, putting his one on his face

Nobody questioned it and soon after the order all four of them put their M40s on.

The ride did not take long. After fifteen seconds or so the elevator stopped and the second door opened.

Danila and Heinrich stepped outside, their guns aiming down at the moment.

 _Not a bad security station, is it?_ Heinrich asked, looking around

Danila nodded imperceptibly. Two HMG barrels aimed at them, with the gunanimals behind a few millimetres of steel, reinforced concrete and bulletproof glass. The picture was completed by two reflectors, which would blind anyone who would enter the room uninvited.

 _Still breachable though._ Danila replied and raised the card he showed to the barmammal earlier

A gate between both firing posts opened, revailing a ram, wearing a bulletproof vest, a military beret and holding a M249. He gestured them to go forward.

"Keep your weapons with safety on. Only aim on the ground and don't talk with anyone, unless provoked. Richard" he pointed behind him, at a moose with similar equipment "will lead you to the boss."

 _Got it._ Danila replied on the speaker, immediately turned it off and switched to a private channel _You heard the guy. Let's move._

 _What's with the fucking berets?_ Max asked, looking around the new location

 _As far as I can tell those were the only hats they could afford._ Natasha replied, attaching her MG to a harness

 _The real story is very similiar to that._ Danila confirmed the theory _But this ain't the place. Let's get the intel and then the hell out of here._

 _What is this place anyway?_ Max asked yet again _Some asylum for murderhobos all across the bloody district?_

 _Close._ Heinrich replied _It's The refuge._

 _That's what I know too._ Natasha replied

 _No, it's literally called The refuge. Prejudiced animals from all over the city come here and live here. Most of the interspecies couples who don't want to hide live here._

 _The others okay with that?_ Gerard asked

 _Even if they ain't they have nothing to say about it._ Danila replied

 _Do they have more than us?_ Natasha asked

 _Don't know. What we do is contacting them with the others, so thy don't contact a hidden millitant and die._ Danila explained _Ours hide, theirs don't._ _Some prefer this to hiding. Some prefer normal life and support groups to this._

The talk stopped for the rest of the walk, which on the other paw did not take long. Only three minutes and the moose opened a door and gestured them to go inside.

 _Back and middle, stay here._ Danila ordered, entering the room

Heinrich followed him, with the rest of their squad guarding their back.

The room was a security station. There was a metal detector, a row of metal lockers and two guards in front of a big door, more specifically a rhino and a bison.

"Stash your weapons here." the rhino said "You won't be getting in with them."

Danila did not move. Heinrich just did what he did.

"I repeat, you won't be getting in with your weapons." the guard said, taking a step forward and crossing his arms on his chest

 _It's all right Colin, you can let them in._ They heard a voice coming from the speakers hanging on the ceiling

The rhino grabbed his walkie-talkie.

"But sir, they-"

 _Don't worry Kevin, if they wanted to kill, or harm me they would stash them._

The rhino looked at the duo with unsure eyes and entered a code on a keypad. The door opened swiftly and without any sound.

Danila and Heinrich entered the room. The door closed behind them, leaving them in a room with one animal.

The room was a study, in Victorian style. Walls and the floor were made out of dark tropical wood. On their left there was a fireplace, a big crimson red carpet and two comfortable looking armchairs. In front of them they could see a huge file cabinet, made from tropical wood. Finally on their left there was a desk with two chairs in front of it and a mini bar behind it.

A silver fox sat behind the desk, dressed in a business suit. It was easily noticable that he was way shorter than most vulpines.

"I wasn't expecting you coming here in this way Sapoznikhov." he spoke, looking at the taller wolf

Danila removed his mask and gesturing Heinrich to do the same he sat on one of the chairs.

"Yet I'm here Lawrence. Time is the most important factor here. No time for games."

The fox looked at the German, who just sat on a chair after removing his gas mask.

"Heinrich, isn't it?" the vulpine smiled when the wolf nodded "Danila told me much about you. We used to talk much, but then it had to change."

Heinrich glanced at Danila, wondering if he was allowed to talk. After a barely noticeable nod he replied:

"I don't recall you."

"Lawrence English. Head of the Refuge. Do you guys want a drink? Or maybr a cigar." the fox looked at Danila "I got some Cuban ones that are bee's knees."

"Thanks for the offer, however I'd rather not. I'm not here for this."

"Shame. What about you Heinrich? I have some German beer too. Deutsche lager, you know."

"Thanks for your hospitality, but I'll have to pass."

"You know, your boss always talked after I pumped a few shots of vodka into him. Getting a bit philosophical. That would be a great way of obtaining information if I ever was stupid enough to think about selling it."

"You done?" Danila asked

"Nope. But you said you are in a hurry, so tell me what do you want to know."

"A few days ago there was a meeting between the criminal bosses of Zootopia and... Well, you know who. Vincent interrupted the meeting and probably exposed Harry."

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did he bother? He views the gangs as an obstacle on the way to his goal, he always wanted the crime not organized, because it would bring more chaos. So why did he change his mind? What is he planning? And where is he planning?"

The fox remained still for a while, collecting his thoughts as he rubbed his chin.

"Vincent is... Hard to catch to say the least. A little easier to track but it's still not easy."

"I know that. can you help or not?"

"He says to leave you alone. To get the ZPD. All I heard. However there is a lead that comes from a source that has a mixed opinion. Basically Vincent visited a magazine thag belonged to the bosses and some of them sould know what is he planning. And one more information, that should not be taken seriously says that he will contact the PRC soon."

"Where's that magazine?"

"Near the docks. Officially they store fruit there," the fox opened one of the drawers in his desk and pulled out a file "but the truth is Felix used it to store his drugs all the time."

He put the pile on the desk and gestured Danila to open and read it.

"After Bellwether's boss contacted them they emptied it and begun to store the pellets there. Everything else I know is in the file."

"Hiding their dirty doings there, yet no good defence and staff." Danila sighed "We'll cut through them like a hot knife through butter. I'm taking the file."

Lawrence nodded. He did not move when the wolves got up and put on the masks.

 _That went well._ Danila said after they went out of the room _Usually he-_

"Wait!"

Both of them turned around when they heard the fox. Lawrence walked out of the office, his skin visibly pale under his fur.

 _What happened?_ Danila asked through the speaker

The fox just showed him a tablet. Danila quickly recognized the inside of the bar but a second later the image he saw chilled the blood, even after all he saw through bis long life.

The place was drenched in blood, with all the animals that were there dead in various poses and places, killed in many ways. Danila did not look for too long.

 _It's fucking Vincent. This happening now?_ he asked the vulpine

"Yeah... How do you know?"

 _Only other option are the fucking fanatics, but they would make them suffer. Those are just eliminated, like he wanted to get rid of the witnesses._

"You gonna take care of them?" the rhino guard asked with hope

 _Any other route would waste our time._ Danila replied and went out the room, with Lawrence following him

"Sir, you shouldn't-" the moose said as he saw his boss following both wolves

"Take them to the staircase. And fortify the elevator." the fox replied "Well, Igorovich. Break a leg."

 _No, thanks._

Danila quickly informed his team and a second later they were following the moose yet again, discussing the tactical approach.

 _Layout stays._ Danila said _But switch to suppressors, I want those on the street unaware of us._

The wolf reached for his commlink and switched the channel to talk to his driver.

 _Car, come in. I repeat, car come in._

 _This is the car._

 _What's your status?_

 _Eight gunanimals passed by me, but I'm fine. They all went to the bar, but I'm certain a few stayed on the street._

 _Roger that car, Rodriguez out._

Danila switched to the team channel again.

 _Eight hostiles. Heinrich, we do this two-one knife-pistol CQC. I'll overwhelm them._ Danila said, hiding his knife

 _Roger._ Heinrich replied, pulling out his knife

The moose stopped, opening a hidden door they saw a staircase behind it.

"You'll exit left to the door." he informed "Good luck."

The team just passed by him and ran up the stairs in punishing pace. Less than a minute and they were on the top, Danila and Heinrich already sticking the the door, their suppressed pistols ready, just waiting for Natasha to open the door.

She put her paw on the door and looked at Danila.

Three fingers. Two fingers. One.

The bear opened the door without any sound and let both wolves go before her. Danila to the left, Heinrich to the right, both sticking to the wall.

Danila immediately raised his fist, clenching it. His squad froze and raised their weapons, scanning the area.

"I don't get it. It should be here!"

Three hostiles. A boar, a deer and a ram. All wielding rifles.

Danila pointed at Heinrich and then on the boar.

"Maybe try to breach it." the deer proposed, opening his backpack

The wolf pointed at Gerard and then at the ram.

"And alarm everyone in there? Besides Luke should find the instructions on the weasel soon, he just has to delacerate the bodies a bit." the ram replied

Danila gave them three prescribed seconds to prepare and then begun the countdown by showing three fingers.

"Standing here is pointless." the deer replied, pulling out a C4 charge

Two fingers.

"Destroying the building too. Ah, fuck it, I'm gonna help him. You bastards don't move."

One finger.

The boar turned around and froze in shock when he saw five armoured animals in gas masks.

But the last finger was gone.

Three simultaneous shots and all three of them flew backwards, with bullet holes in their heads. The bodies fell on the floor, but the team was not looking at them, but positioning themselves near the exit. Danila and Heinrich hid their pistols and only the German pulled out a knife.

Danila looked at the three animals behind them and gave them the last order, simply meaning to hold their positions.

The siberian wolf entered the kitchen, Heinrich following him. The agressors shot the cooks too, leaving a few bodies here. Both wolves simply moved forward, not paying much attention to them.

They made their way to the entrance to the room where it all begun. After a quick order from Danila so that the rest of the team would change their position the duo went in.

The first hostile, a wolf basically ran into them. With a quick look around Danila spotted the second one, a tiger, behind the counter and the third one, a wolf too, probably reporting to somebody, near the exit from the building.

Danila grabbed the closest's one gun with his left paw and clenched his fist on the lupine's muzzle, ensuring that he won't make a sound. Heinrich quickly followed, with one slash of the knife, basically decapitating the enemy, leaving only a short piece of flesh connecting the neck and the head.

Heinrich grabbed the body before it hit the ground and with Danila they dragged the dead wolf to the kitchen, so his fellows wound not see what happened.

Danila went in again, thoughts stroming through his mind as he sneaked to the tiger. He could not believe this, although he had done this so many times. As much as he would like to believe he and his trainees mastered the art of silent hostile elimination he still knew a huge part of this was the obliviousness of their enemies.

He yanked the rifle out of tiger's paws and hit him in the throat with the stock. The feline doubled up, grabbing his throat, but Heinrich ensured he was already done for with a knife to the neck.

Danila ducked behind the counter and unloaded the rifle, glancing at the tiger. He was dead, that was for sure.

The last animal fell as fast as his co-workers. Danila patiently waited behind him to finish the call and then a simple kick the the back of the knee and a neck snap did the job.

He did not even need to give an order and his team ran over all the place, Natasha, Max and Gerard near the exit to cover the street and Heinrich to check the remaining rooms. Danila just stood there, savouring the feeling. His own team, trained by him, doing all he though even before he gave the order. Now he knew what his step-dad meant when he described it.

His self-discipline was too strong to let gim just stand there. Danila gave himself a second and sticked to the wall, pulling out his M1897 and flipping the safety off.

 _Car, come in, how do you read me?_

 _This is car, reading you loud and clear, R._

 _Switch to thermal vision and inform me on enemy activity in the area._

 _Copy that._

A few seconds passed.

 _Heinrich, is the pub clear?_

 _Only female bathroom left to check._ The wolf replied, opeinig the door with the barrel of his G36 _Schei-_

Two shots and silence. Danila looked around, but his squad yet again pleased him with the professionalism. Gerard got up and slowly walked towards the bathroom, while Max covered him, not changing his position.

All nerves went away when Heirich emerged from the toilet, followed by a shocked she-wolf.

 _You gotta be kidding me._ Danila said, not even turning from watching the street

 _This is car-_

 _Car, hold we have a situation._

 _Roger._

 _What? I found her there, two bad guys going to have some fun before they shoot her and what, now I'm supposed to leave her there?_

 _You know we can't take her in the car._

 _I was thinking The refuge._

Danila was surprised by the answer.

 _I'm not gonna lie, that can work. Okay, show her the staircase, but then we need to get the fuck out of here._

 _Confirmed._

It took Heinrich one minute.

 _Here's the plan. We smoke the way to the car. Flashbangs, then me and Heinrich rush to the car. Everyone switch to thermal vision. Natasha suppresses the left, Gerard and Max the right._ _After we begin to cover you you run to the car and cover from there. Natasha is the last._

Everyone nodded.

 _Car, come in._

 _This is car._

 _Do you have any hostiles?_

 _Negative. To me they're all concealed._

 _Roger._ Danila turned to the team _Ready?_

They all nodded yet again.

 _Khorosho. Ready th_ _e smokes... Aim... Go!_

Three grenades thrown from the window landed exactly where they wanted them, blocking the view of anyone hiding near the street.

 _Prepare the flashes... On my mark... Now!_

All of them turned around and after the grenades set off Danila and Heinrich ran on the street. Immedistely after that they heard Max and Gerard fire and somebody returning. The firefight took a while and nothing foreshadowed the end of it just as they both were halfway to the car.

All of those sounds were nothing compared to Natasha's dull brattle of her 14mm HMG. The little difference between wolf-sized and bear-sized KPV were nothing. A little part of wolves' brains told them to get down, find some cover, to escape the bear's judgement, but fortunately they were trained too good to give in.

Just as they were three-quarters to the car Heinrich kneeled and begun to fire at the enemies on the right. Gerard and Max immediately got the message and got out of their positions, running towards the car.

A new challenger appeared. All three animals on the street got down, supressed by a few M249s. If they stayed there longer the chance of getting hit by a stray bullet were high. Danila knew they had to move, but he could not do anything as-

A primal roar, a little drowned out because of the gas mask echoed through the street. Natasha got out of her cover, thermal vision goggles on her eyes helping her punish the ones that stood in her way. She walked on the street, shells falling on the asphalt.

Danila knew that state. He felt the primal rage going through his veins a few times earlier and knew that was both good and bad.

Natasha was now basically unbeatable. Faster. Stronger. Sharper. Fearless. Her body pushed the limits. An effect Phoenix night howler shots gave. Almost impossible to achieve without it.

But when it would wear off there were no medicine to counter her exhaustion. She took the initiative and now they had to use it.

 _Ogon'!_ he cried through the radio, stepping out of his cover

He felt noradrenaline entering his system. His breath slowed a bit, his paws got incredibly stable and his reaction time got faster.

With his thermal vision he saw four silhouettes on the street and two in the building. He put the stock against his cheek and got the first one. The buckshot swept the animal off the ground and hit the one next to him in the arm, spinning him before he fell on the ground.

Their colleagues saw their fate and reluctant to suffer the same took a step backwards, then another one and then one of them fell, with a hole in his head. That was enough for the last one, who turned around and run to find any cover. Another cloud of buckshot successfully prevented him from that though.

Danila turned around on his feet, feeling noradrenaline wearing off. He quickly got to Natasha and with two shots he finished the enemies off.

 _Clear on our side._ Gerard reported, slowly backing to the car

Natasha fell on her knees, flipping the safety on with shaking paws. Heinrich ran to her and with Danila they helped the bear stand up, while Max covered their backs.

When they made it to the car she sat on the bench heavily, removing her gas mask. All she could do was breathe heavily, with drops of sweat on her face.

Everyone else was no better. Their bodies needed to calm down.

The driver just hit the gas and drove out of there.

"What happens now?" Max asked

"We got new coordinates. Heinrich, check if the others will join us. Gerard, help Natasha get herself together. I will prepare a plan."


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

Sunlight woke the bunny up, who just turned her head into the fluffy blanket.

 _Weird, I don't recall having one like tha-_

She opened her eyes, seeing Nick peacefully sleeping next to her.

 _Oh yeah._

She smiled and closed her eyes, getting even closer to him. Yesterday was the happiest day of her life. Finally confessing, finding out that he feels the same way too. Cuddling in bed before going to sleep. Feeling him on her side, knowing he would protect her from anything. She never slept so peacefully in her life.

Nick yawned and stretched, waking up.

"Oh, hey Carrots." he said, smiling as he realized she was next to him

"You are the best cushion ever." she said, running her paw on his fur

Nick chuckled, moving her closer and giving her a kiss on the forehead.

"You are a good plushie." he replied, looking her in the eyes

Judy chuckled "Am I?"

"Just look at yourself. Fully, small and adorable. You are the best plushie anyone could have."

They laid there in silence for a while, enjoying each other's company

"Nick?" Judy asked

Her face expression turned really serious.

"What is it Whiskers?" he asked, changing his tone from playful and loving to serious

"I know that... It can be difficult to you, but I... I want to know about your involvement with the Phoenix." she said, afraid that the question may anger or upset him

She almost sighed with relief when Nick nodded.

"I will tell you everything you want to know. Just not here, okay?" he proposed

"Fair enough." she agreed and looked at the clock "Breakfast will be ready within a few minutes. I think we should move."

Nick sighed, but eventually got up.

"You don't like to cuddle?" he asked

"I loved it. But if we didn't go they'd think we overslept and find us like this." she explained, having his reaction from yesterday in mind

"Good point. You have any plans for later?" he asked

"I had something in my mind."

After a quick shower and dressing up they both ate breakfast quickly and went for a little walk in the woods nearby the house. When the duo made sure nobody was watching them they grabbed each others paw and kissed, happy that now they did not have to hide.

"So, do you have any nice places around?" Nick asked after they broke the kiss

"There are many beautiful places around." Judy replied

"I bet none of them are as beautiful as you."

The bunny blushed and looked down for a while.

"How about we just walk? If we find a nice place it'll be nice, but if we don't it'll still be a nice walk." she proposed

Nick nodded, his gaze full of love.

"Sounds like a nice plan, Carrots."

They walked for a while, the forest getting a little thicker, until they got interrupted. Judy heard it first.

"There's somebody behind us." she said, turning around

Nick's ears raised as he tried to listen.

"Looks like they're tired." he said, hearing the animal pant heavily

A few seconds after that they saw a pair of bunny ears and then Clyde's face.

"Judy... Wait..." he said, running towards them

"What do you want?" she asked with neutral tone, crossing her arms on her chest "Last time I saw you you were insulting my partner."

"Look... I'm... I'm sorry... I acted like an ass." he apologized

Judy expected anything but this. Nick too, he just did not show it to the bunnies.

"I mean it, really. Not because dad told me to." Clyde assured

"Don't worry, I'm used to it." Nick replied

"Oh."

"Chill, dude. Apology accepted."

"Sorry for my harsh tone." Judy said

"No problem. I understand." her brother replied "That's all. I'm gonna go now."

The bunny turned around and begun to walk back to the house.

"Would you look at that... I'd never expect something like that." Judy said "What do you think happened?"

"That doesn't matter." Nick replied "What matters is that he left us alone."

After he said that he lifted her up and kissed her deeply. Although she was surprised she did not resist and kissed him back, closing her eyes and putting her arms around his neck.

"What is that, foxy?" she asked after they broke the kiss

"This is a part of my little plan of giving you little, unexpected surprises." he said, with a sly smile

"Clever fox."

"Surprised bunny."

They were about to kiss again, but someone interrupted them.

"Guys, I found a wallet on the way back, is it you- oh." they heard Clyde's voice

The magic of the moment broke. Nick put Judy on the ground and they both turned to the rabbit.

"That's mine." Nick said and took the wallet

"Ok. Goodbye." the male rabbit said, like nothing happened, then turned around and begun to walk away yet again

Even he was surprised by his reaction. That was the second time in 48 hour when his opinion on something changes. First it were predators, now that were interspecies relationships.

It may have got something with the fact Judy not only was his sister, but also a celebrity, as he did not feel any bad feelings towards her, not even her boyfriend.

He shook his head. He should not bother wondering about such unimportant things. What mattered is that he was free. Amanda ans Claus released him this morning, claiming that they took care of the Bunnyburrows gangs during the night. He did not know how true that was, but what mattered was that they let him go.

He sighed with relief. Fortunately he would not meet them again.

oooooooooooooo

Stu opened the door to his office and let all three animals in. An arctic wolf, struggling a little due to a stabilizer on his knee and a briefcase. He was followed by a grey fox and a brown bunny, who stood on both sides of the doorframe as soon as they entered the room.

Claus felt like the time stretched, similar to bubblegum. He saw everything move slower, barely felt his own body and heard almost nothing but his breaths.

Desite all of that he felt amazing and the sex he had with his girlfriend the night before was the best he ever had. Maybe this was his mentality recovering from near-death experience, or the feeling of power after dealing with the gang all by themselves. Their training did not matter, disarming five opponents in less than ten seconds almost made him ecstatic.

"Please, sit." the male bunny said, getting him out of his thoughts

"Thanks, but we will stand." the fox replied

"What about you?" the buck asked the wolf

"I will sit." the wolf said

The lupine sat down and placed his paws on the desk.

"Shall we get to business, Mr. Hopps?" the wolf asked, with a friendly smile

"Yes, of course!" the bunny agreed "Mr... Sapoznikhov, isn't it? Dimitri, if I am right."

"Indeed. Do you remember which areas I told you about on the phone?" the Russian asked

"Yes, fields 6 and 5. Those on the verge of the forest, somewhat in the middle." Stu replied, having a map of his land in his head

"Exactly. You do know your possessions." Dimitri said with satisfaction

"I grew up looking over them." Stu replied "May I ask what do you plan to grow there?"

"Various vegetables." the wolf said "We will test some new fertilizers and their effect on the vegetables."

"One of the rules of out contract was that no chemicals were allowed in that area." the bunny reminded him

"They're all natural and harmless to the environment. Many tests confirmed that, I have a copy of the results with me, if you'd like to take a look." Dimitri explained

"Yes, please." the buck replied

The wolf opened his briefcase and pulled out a plastic file, with various documents inside. He handed it to the rabbit, who opened it and begun to read.

"Yes, it looks good..." he said halfway through the documents "Do you have a list of the pest repellers as well?"

"It's at the end of the documents."

The bunny read all the documents and put them back in the file, handing it to the wolf.

"Yes, the paperwork is solid..." he muttered "If you have the money for the first month on yourself we can sign the contract today and you can begin your tests immediately."

The wolf put the briefcase on the table and opened it. It was filled with hundred dollar bills.

"Animals say that electronic money is the future, but they simply do not understand the power of a briefcase full of money, don't you think Mr. Hopps?" the wolf asked, seeing the buck's reaction

"Yes, it looks... Very convincing to say the least. The buck said and cleared his throat "May I..."

"Help yourself."

The bunny counted the money until it was clear that the full amount was there and pushed the briefcase on the side. Then he reached into one of the drawers of his desk and pulled out a document.

"You just have to sign here, here and here" he said, pointing at the sheet of paper "and the fields are officially leased."

The wolf nodded and read the contract. After he did that he signed and shook the bunny's paw.

"Pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Hopps."

"I can say the same, Mr. Sapoznikhov."

The wolf stood up and hid the document in the file and then in the briefcase, after the bunny emptied it of money.

"Goodbye."

"Goodbye."

His guards opened the door and he walked out. The entrance for bigger animals was neaby, so it did not take long for them to exit.

It was already afternoon. Dimitri sighed and walked towards his car, a few bunnies watching him and his fox guard as they did so. He did not care about any of them. None could harm him or anyone else. The only animal that could would be Wilde, but the Russian could not see him anywhere.

He spot him just as he was about to get into the car. The vulpine watched him wide eyed, probably scared mercilessly.

Dimitri frowned. That was... Unexpectable. He supposed Wilde would be pissed. With a toothy grin he put a finger to his mouth and sat in the car, closing the door.

ooooooooooooooo

"As I said before, we are transferring all the stuff. It's inside, the boss wants in here now. More cars will arrive soon, so if you plan to hold every one of them as long as mine you will slow down the entire operation."

The guard sighed. The buck inside the cabin was right. The documents were good too, so he really should let them in. Yet something was still off... He looked around. No other cars in his sight and he already checked the inside of the car, so it could not be a trap.

The area nearby was clear too. No animals at all have entered that area of the docks since yesterday. And even those were his co-workers. That row of warehouses was used by practically nobody.

"Who exactly approved of this?" the antelope asked, going through the documents again

"Some crazy fucking bastard." the buck scoffed "Wait, I think his name was... Vincent? I don't know, it started with a 'V', I'm sure of that."

The guard nodded. Everything on the documents was good. All the stamps and signatures. At this point he was almost sure it was all good. The boss might have told him to always be one hundred percent sure, but he preferred to let that few percent slip rather than get another reprimand.

"Alright, I'll let you in. Hold on." the guard said and went over to his post

The antelope sat inside and tapped the code in. The big double doors of the warehouse slowly opened, revailing a big unloading area and huge amount of shelves behind it.

 _Who's that?_ he heard his boss through the intercom

"It's a delivery. They have papers confirming a transfer of all the pellets here." the antelope explained, taking a sip of his coffee

 _There were no orders like that..._

The antelope spilled his coffee all over the glass. He opened his eyes wide and looked at the truck. He spotted the buck put on a gas mask and heard the back door open.

He opened a shlef and pulled out a shotgun. He had to hold them for just a second, to give the animals inside some time to prepare. He got up and went out of the post, aiming at the buck, who was putting on his helmet.

An animal, wearing a full combat armour and wielding an M1897 went suddenly appeared in his field of view and shot him even before the antelope realized he was there. A cloud of lead threw the antelope back onto the post, killing him before the impact.

Danila quickly got right next to the animal he just killed and watching the entrance he waited for Bucky to drive inside the building. He was quickly joined by a cheetah, who positioned himself behind the wolf, his AS Val ready to fire.

The engine revved and the delivery car drove through the gate, nobody firing at it yet. Danila and Jack ran right next to it, carefully watching tbeir surroundings.

The car stopped after it passed the gate. Shots fired from the second side, where Heinrich and Natasha were.

Danila stopped Jack from getting there.

 _They'll manage._ he said, watching the shelves

Jack nodded, aiming his AS Val at the railing. Novody was there yet.

Natasha's KPV fired a few times, while their position was still untouched.

 _Are you sure?_ the cheetah asked

 _Trust me. Heinrich would've manage himself, but he doesn't, because Natasha is there to help him._

The back door of the truck opened and the rest of the squad ran out of it. Apart from Max and Gerard there also was a bull and a razorback. The bull and Gerard joined the buck on the front, not going yet, but covering the rest of the team. Meanwhile Max joined the wolf and the cheetah, where they waited for confirmation from Heinrich.

 _Group C_ _moving!_ the wolf said, with footsteps bring heard from their direction right after that

 _Group A moving!_ Danila said right after that and his group moved with him, Danila leading and the cheetah and the antelope a bit behind him, Jack on the left, Max on the right.

 _You think the newbies will manage?_ Danila heard Jack's voice in his commlink

 _Incoming hostiles!_ Max informed _Between the shelves!_

 _Thanks for the info group A, we're intercepting._ Bucky said

A few shots were fired there, but it soon became obvious that hia group did not want to waste ammo.

 _They're coming towards you, group A. A small group, using the shelves as cover. We're moving._

All three of them reacted immediately. Danila dashed forward, Max securing his right and Jack covering his left. The wolf got between the shelves and waited near the corner with his shotgun. Soon he heard multiple footsteps and took a step back, moving his finger down, placing it on the trigger.

The first animal was a bull. Danila saw how surprised he was when after peeking a corner a cloud of lead blew his head off, covering two animals behind him, a pig and a ram, with a bloody mess, consisting of brain, flesh and skull.

Still pressing the trigger the wolf tugged the fore-end back and forward, just in time to catch a horse in the chest. The wolf quickly finished the job with a second shot to the face.

Then it was time for the pig and the ram, blinded by blood that got into their eyes. Two shots did the job.

Driven more by a sixth sense of some sort the wolf got prone, right before the cardboard boxes he stood next to a second later got absolutely massacred by assault rifle fire. The wolf felt tiny shreds of plastic cover his back as the contents of the box got ripped by the bullets.

A quick response from Max silenced the fire. The fox reached for his belt, pulling out five shotgun shells and loading them into the weapon. Then he counted to three and got up, moving further into the labyrinth of shelves. A quick information from the rest of his team came, telling him they were right behind.

A hippo ran in the widest corridor, designed for big animals. Dan let him do that, his predictions confirmed when he heard the mass of meat fall, shot down by Jack's silenced rifle. Russian nine millimetres, while extremely recognizable was irreplaceable. The stopping force of the bullet was too much to let it slide.

They stopped right before they would enter the corridor. Without any words the antelope took a flashband grenade and threw it in the corridor, informing the wolf and the cheetah before.

Both the canine and the feline jumped out, Danila checking the right, Jack the left.

 _Bucky here. Do you have any intel on enemy positions?_ the buck asked via radio

 _Negative._ Heinrich replied

 _They're either preparing an assault or dug in._ Danila said

 _It's gonna be an assault._ Jack claimed

 _Most likely. But keep your guard up._ Danila agreed

All three groups got attacked at the second end of the magazine. Their enemies hid behind the shelves and boxes, trying to break through and escape.

It failed miserably. Not only did they fail to hit anyone, they also lost the element of surprise when they peeked.

The difference in training was easily visible. While all their hostiles did was spray and pray the Phoenix just landed a few aimed shots and quickly finished the job.

 _Clear. What's your status?_ Danila asked

 _We're good._

 _It's okay._

 _Holy shit, dude. I missed this._ Jack said, turning to the Siberian wolf

 _Oh trust me, I did too._ Danila nodded _Yet it's not like Saudi Arabia, is it?_

 _You wanna compare those bastards to Savage's agents?_ the cheetah asked, turning a llama on his back _That one is with Dixon. That buck is a crazy fucking bastard... This one with one of the minors._ he pointed at a gibbon _They really did fucking unite. I can't believe this shit..._

 _No matter how hard they unite, they still are fucking trash._

 _You taken any new recruits?_

 _Not me. Gerard and Max are somebody else's choice._ Danila replied with a bit of grievance in his voice

 _And that's a bad thing? They're handling themselves good. Very good._

 _That's not the case. We need to separate the wheat from the chaff._

 _Now that sounded bad._

Danila facepalmed _Yeah, it did... Look, we're taking way too many animals to initiation way too soon._

 _Not this again..._

 _Yes, this again. Everyone could pass it, they just need time. The reason Heinrich and the first wave did it how they did it was because there was no time. You know how it was, we basically brought the Phoenix here and desperately needed paws to hold_ _our positions._

 _And those times haven't changed yet, they still want a piece of our ass._

 _But now we have fortified outposts and a big fucking hideout, not a basement in the suburbs._ Danila switched to the main channel _Heinrich,_ _Jack_ _, Bucky you check the office. Max, Gerard and Natasha, get the car here. The rest will clear the area with me._

Everyone confirmed and went to do their assignments. Heinrich opened the office door and went in, scanning the area, with his G36 ready. Jack and Bucky followed him, covering him from behind.

The office was very sleazy and it looked like it served as a break room too. It was in the shape of a rectagle with a partition wall in the middle. In the first part there was a table with two benches on the sides, which were laying on the floor at the moment. Apart from that there was a small counter and a fridge next to the wall.

The trio did not waste time there and moved to the office part of the room. They saw a pinboard, a desk and a locker in it.

 _It's a very cheap office. Seems like Felix ain't here for a while._ Bucky noticed

 _That's true. He gave it to the rest of the mob, so they could store the night howler pellets._

Heinrich removed his gas mask and mopped the drops of sweat off his fur.

"It is tiring to wear those all the time, ja?" he asked, opening the locker

Jack removed his mask and took a deep breath.

"Yep. Can you imagine fighting without thermoactive wear?" he agreed

"I'd leave the armour." the wolf replied

"Ain't the worst idea." the buck agreed removing his mask too "Anything interesting there?"

The wolf shook his head "Only a jacket and somebody's lunch, I guess. What about you?"

"The guy saved me a lot of work by leaving the most important documents on the table." the buck replied with a scoff

"Scherzt dich nicht mehr." the German said, moving to the desk "Really?"

"I'd rather call it a logistical base than a magazine." the buck said, studying the documents

"Only if they plan on attacking Nocturnal District too." Jack said, taking photos of the pinboard

"There's a new passage nearby? God, ghost status does something with you." the buck said, surprised by this

"You really helped R with the build-up from the beggining?" Heinrich asked

"Who?" the cheetah asked

"Both of you. I remember you from the times when I joined, but you went to Nocturnal District and led the covert ops there; and you changed your status to ghost." Heinrich said, turning to the cheetah first and to the buck second

"Bucky was first." the cheetah said "He was here when R joined."

"Yeah, I'm fucking old." the buck agreed "Jack joined a few years later. R's initiative. Can't say he was wrong, he hardly ever is. What 'bout you?"

"He trained me. Self-explanatory from there." the wolf replied

"Yep." Jack agreed "Bucky?"

The buck put the documents down and walked over to the cheetah "What is it?"

"Do you think Vincent would have left this on purpose?"

The buck looked at the pinboard and froze.

First there was a map of Zootopia, with green pins on police precincts and green strings which showed usual patrol routes. Red pins showed where logistical bases, just like this one was and yellow pins showed Phoenix outposts. Under every yellow and blue pin there was a post-it. The buck slowly read every one of those under the blue ones.

"Tundratown, heavy defences, but lack of personnel... Take in riots, our animals in the crowd... Savanna Central, concealed under a supermarket... Enter during the looting and use professionals..."

"It's real." Heinrich interrupted the buck

"Are you sure?" Jack asked "I think it may be fake, Vincent loves to play with animals."

"You did not read the post-its under blue pins." the wolf replied "Listen. Precinct one. Chief won't be bribed, kidnap Hopps and Wilde and pin them in place during the riots. This is his real plan. If he intended it to be found he would not write about the riots in every one of them."

"Why do you think that?" the buck asked

"Because that's what everyone of us would have done too. We can be picked only in general chaos, not in a frontal assault."

"Yeah, that makes sense. Let me send this to R." the cheetah said, pulling out his phone

"No. Don't send it to him." the wolf stopped the cheetah

"Why?" Jack asked

"It will only reassure him that he shouldn't help the ZPD. But you all know we have to. It's not the option the council approves, but it's the best one strategically and tactically." Heinrich said

The feline and the buck nodded. They knew Heinrich was right. But something had to be done.

"Send it to Dimitri." the wolf said, answering the unasked question "He will make R do it."

The cheetah opened his mouth to protest, but Heinrich was faster.

"Trust me. I do not know Danila longer, but I know how his mentality changed. He will do as I say."

The cheetah looked at the buck, who nodded after a while. The feline sighed and sent the photos to Dimitri.

"I really hope you are right." the cheetah said

"I am." Heinrich replied and took the documents to his backpack, while the cheetah packed the pinboard

After they were done they took gasoline canisters and poured the office with it.

"Do you think he will begin soon?" Jack stopped Heinrich just before they went out of the room

"Vincent? He already begun." the wolf replied, put on his gas mask and went out of the room

ooooooooooooo

"How much do you bet it was a fake call?" the tiger asked, pulling out his wallet

Wolfard did not answer at first. He kept watching the empty back alley from inside of their crusier.

"It wasn't." he replied

"It was. I mean come on, a Prey Rights Council member doing drugs? You know how often he is on TV, they would've found out a long time ago and throw him out." the tiger argued

"It wasn't." Wolford denied that yet again

"Okay, smartass. How much?" Fangmeyer asked

Wolfard drummed his fingers on the sterring wheel "Twenty." he reached for his walled, pulled out a $20 bill and put it on the dashboard

"Now we're talking." the tiger said and put another bill

Wolfard looked at the clock and yawned. If Jones really did do drugs that was a perfect time. All cops were basically sleeping at 11PM and they were there only because they were the closest.

Suddenly movement caught his attention. He nugged the tiger and pointed somewhere behind the dumpster.

Fangmeyer nodded and picked up his radio.

"Dispatch, this is Z-6, how do you copy?"

 _Z-6, this is dispatch, what's your status?_

"We may have a 10-18, will keep you updated."

 _Copy that Z-6, over and out._

A hippo went around the dumpster. He wore a black hoodie, jeans and had an old white backpack. The animal went out of the alley, on the pavement and pulled out his phone.

"He'll see us." the tiger said

"No, he won't. We're in a concealed car." Wolford replied "And even if he did it's this side of town. He won't care."

"What do you mean, this side of town, were right next to the PRC HQ!" the tiger pointed at the building

"Exactly."

That seemed to surprise and quiet the tiger.

The hippo hid his phone after a brief conversation and went back to the alley, looking around a bit.

Not so long after that three animals appeared on the left side of the pavement, like they went out of the PRC HQ. First there was a yak, then a zebra and a second yak following them. They walked into the alley and joined the hippo.

"That seems pretty obvious, doesn't it?" the tiger asked "Do we step in?"

"Wait." the wolf replied "We need the deal to happen."

"We have no recording." Fangmeyer replied

"I checked, a traffic camera covers there."

"Smart."

The zebra talked with the hippo for a while and reached inside his pocket. He pulled out his wallet and gave the hippo a fat stack. The hippo counted the money, put his backpack in front of him and pulled out a bag filled with white powder.

"We've seen enough." Wolford said and prepared the beacon

Their plan was simple. Quickly overrun the deal and arrest them.

"Dispatch, this is Z-6, we're stepping in."

 _Copy that Z-6, Z-3 is on the other side ready to support._

"Copy that, over and out."

Just as the wolf activated the beacon and turned on the lights the animals in the alley ran forward, the yaks pulling the zebra with them.

"ZPD! Freeze and out your hoofs up!" Wolford exclaimed through the megaphone

"They ain't stopping." Fangmeyer said, getting out of the car

Wolford cursed under his breath and got out of the car too.

"Dispatch, this is Z-6, chasing four suspects on foot. All males, there are two brown-furred yaks, a hippopotamus and a zebra. Going south if our position, towards Z-3." the tiger reported, running after the animals

 _Copy that, Z-6._

Although the four did not stop the cops slowly gained on them. It still did not matter, as even if the escaping animals would be faster the patrol on the other end of the alley would still catch them.

"Z-3, this is Z-6, are you in position?" the wolf asked via radio

 _Affirmative. As soon as they run out they're our- Wait, don't go there!_

"What's going on?" the lupine asked

When the four escaping animals were just about to exit the alley two pedestrians, both foxes walked in front of them, one of the yaks tripping over one, the second vulpine barely dodging the hippo.

"ZPD, freeze!" the next two cops, an antelope and another wolf said through the megaphone, activaing their beacon

What happened then was pure chaos. The zebra, still held by one of the yaks kept telling the other prey to stop, the hippo ran at the police crusier and tried to turn it over, the fallen yak tried to kick the fox that tripped him over with his hoof in blind rage, while the second yak just stood there, looking around, trying to find a way out.

Wolford quickly put a tranq dart in the kicking yak and then aimed at the hippo, who was halfway through turning the crusier over. Meanwhile Fangmeyer dashed to the second yak, trying to cuff him.

The yak was not going to let that happen though, letting go of the zebra and taking a step back, while grabbing the second fox and putting a knife to his throat.

"Stop, or I'll... I'll cut his fucking throaAAAAGH!"

The fox reacted immediately, grabbing the yak's forearm near the wrist and below the elbow and snapped the bone with his knee. The knife feel out of prey's hoof and he fell on his knees, breathing heavily, eyes wide.

The fox took a few steps back and helped the second one get up.

"Shit, are you alright Peter?" he asked

"Haven't hit me once."

"What were you guys doing here?" Wolford asked, cuffing the zebra

"Just passing by, minding our own business. Then those bastards ran into us, that one almost fucking smashed me."

"I'll sue you for that, pelt!" the yak with the broken arm exclaimed, holding his limb

"It was an act of self-defence. You held a knife to my throat, it's on CCTV. You can do shit." the fox replied, not even bothering to look at the yak

Fangmeyer and Wolford led the zebra and one of the yaks to their crusier and drove to the precinct.

ooooooooooooooo

"It's really Jones, isn't it?" the chief asked, looking through the one-way mirror

Wolford nodded "Caught red-handed. I want to see how he gets out of this one."

"He will." an old moose approached them "He did in a worse scenario. All it took was a phone call."

"Hi Marcus." the chief greeted the moose, shaking his hoof

"Hi Bogo, hi Wolford." the moose greeted both of them

Marcus was in the ZPD fir a very long time. He remebered the times before Black was chief, gathering many stories from his many patrols and assignments.

The zebra got up and walked to the one-way mirror. He banged on it a few times and spoke:

"I want my phone call."

Wolford looked at Bogo. The chief just nodded.

The wolf opened the room and gave the zebra his phone. Jones raised his brow but took it and dialed a number.

"Yeah, it's me. You know what to do." the zebra said and handed the phone back after hunging up

A second later Bogo's phone rang. The bovine frowned and answered the call.

"Hello? Who is it?"

The chief's eyes opened wide as the animal on the other side replied.

"With all due respect sir, he was cau-"

The mammal on the other side cut the buffalo mid-sentence, each word causing his eyes to open wider.

"No, sir that-"

The chief was cut again.

"Yes, of course. Okay. Okay. Have a great night, sir."

The bovine put the call on hold and sighed heavily.

"Wolford, let him go. Escort him to the exit and tell someone to bring his possessions."

"But chief, he-"

Bogo just gave him the phone.

"Hello?" the wolf said, unsure what he was about to hear, whilst looking at the chief woth concerned eyes

The animal on the other side spoke, the wolf's face showed anger.

"We caught him red-"

The wolf was cut off. His face expression turned to confusion.

"But that still-"

The animal spoke again, Wolford's face expression changing to fear.

"Okay." he said meekly and gestured the zebra to follow him

While he escorted the animal one of the new recruits, a black wolf walked inside the corridor. He spot the zebra walking away and looked at the moose with questioning look. Marcus just shook his head slowly, glancing at Bogo. The chief seemed not to spot them.

The moose pointed at himself. The black wolf nodded and just kept on walking, like nothing happened.

Wolford took Jones in front of the precinct, and sighed heavily. The zebra did not react, looking at his watch from time to time.

The moose walked out of the precinct, with Jones' belongings.

"Nice Rolex. How much did it cost?" he asked, looking at zebra's watch

"It was somewhat expensive. I don't remember."

"Okay." the moose replied and pointed at a convoy of cars that arrived in front of the precinct "Are they for you?"

Jones looked at a tiger and an ocelot exiting the vehicles and nodded.

"Yep, they a-"

He turned to the moose, his skin white under his fur. He hoped the detonator the animal held was a creation of his imagination, but it was true.

The moose gave the zebra a toothy grin as he pressed the button. The street below the cars exploded, consuming the animals inside as the vehicles blew up, lifted by the previous explosion. The remains of them fell down into the exposed sewer.

Jones and Wolford slowly got up, both of them scared like they never were, just to see a few officers running out of the precinct arrest the moose who kneeled and put his hoofs behind his head.


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

Nick, Amanda and Claus were right. Despite being a minority in the city predators made most of Gideon's clients. Fortunately enough his skills were enough to turn way more profit than he anticipated. His clients were very satisfied with his products and quickly spread the word about his place.

However he did spot some unusual prey behaviour after Nick mentioned that. In some cases even if they did enter his store they rarely said anything and spent much time choosing what to buy, only to select one product or exit the store without buying anything.

That was rather suspicious, but happened quite rarely, so the fox did not pay much attention to it and probably would not have if Nick did not tell him about it.

The door opened, getting him out of his thoughts. A few arctic wolves walked inside, a mother and two kits. Gideon put on a smile and spoke:

"Good morning! How may I help you?"

"We're looking for a little snack before we go to the airport." the she-wolf answered, smiling back "Do you see anything you like? Cassie? Samantha?"

Her daughters took a look around, deciding do take two pretzels.

"That'll be five dollars." Gideon said, after handing them the bakings

"It'll be cash." a male wolf said, entering the shop

Gideon's eyes widened as he recognized one of the most dangerous animals in the city, if not in the world.

Rodriguez knew that a good first impression couls be made only once. And that he would never know who he could meet. That's why he wore a smart suit over a thin bulletproof vest and a few small concealed weapons.

The wolf slowly made his way towards the counter, pulled out a five dollar bill and put it in front of the fox.

"Go to the car." he said to his wife and kits

"What about you?" Diana asked, a little worried what he has in mind

"I'll join slowly after." he answered, with a smile, assuring her that nothing bad will happen

The she-wolf nodded and took their kits to the black Toyota outside.

"Nice place you got." the wolf said as soon as the door closed

"What do you want?" Gideon asked, wondering if he had time to run and hide in the office

"My kits wanted a snack before we'd get to the airport." the wolf replied "So we stopped here. Just a coincidence."

"Did you know I was here?" the vulpine asked

"Yeah. I have a map with all troublemakers marked. Right here." he said, tapping the side of his head

"I'm a troublemaker to you!?" Gideon asked, sounding more outraged than surprised

"You are a possibility." Danila replied "I might have broken your knees and left you half-dead, but different animals learn different lessons. Don't deny you considered revenge."

Gideon sighed and lowered his head. Ghosts of his past always caught up with him.

He run into the wolf, or rather the wolf ean into him, when he was in Bunnyburrows gangs. They never were strong, but they had a few profitable operations there. Rodriguez simply came in and told them to stop a few of them. They of course laughed at him and told him to piss off.

If Gideon had a second chance he would have taken it and accepted the offer. The Russian beat all seven of them in less than a minute, leaving them unable to do anything while he persuaded their boss to stop their activities.

"I never did." the fox replied "You left me shattered. If not for my therapist I would've put a cap in my head a long time ago. To this day I'm afraid of you, or your goons coming for me to finish the job."

Rodriguez's brow went up.

"What job? It was only about your boss. I needed a safe perimeter." the wolf replied

"And that's why you beat us so hard?" the vulpine growled

"If you expect me to apologize you will be disappointed." the wolf replied "I have no regrets."

"How can you sleep at night?"

The wolf scoffed "You aren't any better. In fact, you are way worse."

"Why is that?"

"You made animals' lives worse for money."

"And you? What's the point of the Phoenix?"

Rodriguez scoffed and made a toothy grin as he thought about the answer.

"Their goals and my goals differ a lot. I do what I do for an idea. They are the same as you." he explained, however his reply raised even more questions in Gideon's head

"What idea could justify your actions? You killed hundreds and ruined even more lives." the fox said

"I'll let the animals decide after I achieve my goal." the wolf replied

"Are you really gonna turn yourself in?"

"Only if I succeed."

"Good luck with your fight then, because I'll enjoy your death sentence." Gideon growled

"Opposite to you, I have faith in the society."

"Do you? Two of your goons told me about the city yesterday. You wanna fight for that?"

"I know the reality we live in. But if I succeed the cycle will stop and predators and prey will finally live in peace."

"And what if you fail to achieve your goal? Then what? You'll still turb yourself in? Or rather run with your tail between your legs?"

"I see only two options. Either I succeed, or die trying. There's no middle ground here." Rodriguez replied "Could you give me a bagel?"

Gideon did not reply, stabbing the wolf with his eyes. He just took the baking and placed it in front of the wolf.

Rodriguez took it and placed a five dollar bill on the counter.

"Keep the change." he said and went out of the store, entering the car

* * *

The shrew drummed his fingers on his armchair and looked at the screen yet again. The cheetah was with the Phoenix. There was no doubt of it. And if what he said was true they should let him in to ensure that he won't exit alive.

"Do you think you could take him out?" he asked his biggest guard

Koslov looked at the other polar bears in the room. Both Raymond and Kevin were very experienced and if their trio would not handle that animal he doubted anyone would.

"Without bigger problems." the bear said

"Be ready." the shrew said and pressed a button on the side of the screen "Morris, let him in."

The shrew saw that the gate opened and a polar bear appeared, letting the cheetah in. Soon after that the feline disappeared from the screen, meaning he was coming.

Raymond and Kevin positioned themselves on both sides of the door, ready to grab the feline as soon as he would enter the room.

The door opened and the cheetah walked in. He wore a jacket, with a hoodie underneath it and cargo pants. No boots, nor a kevlar vest.

Raymond grabbed the hood and pulled it up, while Kevin went to open the trapdoor. It was a perfect plan, but it failed.

Jake predicted that. The hood ripped, staying in the ursine's paw while the cheetah was still free. He immediately used the occasion and kicked the bear in the face twice. The first woke him up as he barely caught his balance, but the second send him on the ground.

Kevin immediately turned around and reached for his gun, but the cheetah was faster. He dashed forward, grabbed the pistol blocking the trigger with his thumb and hit the bear in the face. His next move was ejecting the magazine and pulling the slide, thus unloading the bullet from the chamber. Kevin seemed not to realize this and swung at the feline. Jake just crouched and slammed his fist into the bear's solar plexus. Kevin bent, his cheek meeting the feline's head as he straightened right after the hit.

Kevin fell hard on his back, letting go of his pistol. Knowing that he was unconscious Jack ran towards the bear he defated earlier and ensured he would not be a problem anymore with a strong kick to the face.

His sixth sense of some sort saved him again as Koslov pressed the trigger of his glock, aimed at his head. Jack only had a second but it was enough to move forward and dodge the bullet by mere millimetres.

The bear fired again, but the cheetah was faster, jumping to cover, being Big's desk. He cursed under his breath, knowing he could not use his gun. He also knew he had to move, or he would be dead.

The cheetah grabbed something from the desk and threw on the side, vaulting the desk as soon as he threw it.

Koslov took the bait, shooting the item instead of the cheetah. He had the shrew in his left paw, protecting his boss, while shooting with his right.

Jack pushed the gun to the side, the next bullet flying in random direction. Koslov immediately took a step back and tried again, but the feline was already ready for it. He pushed the gun again, this time grabbing the slide too. As it fired again he immediately let go of it and hit the bear in the face.

He went for it again, but Koslov let go of the gun and grabbed his forearm. Jack knew shit got serious and the situation will not end soon. The ursine was strong enough to snap his arm with only his grip. The cheetah had to act fast.

Instead of hitting the bear again Jack quickly put his foot on Koslov's knee and jumped, getting his arm out of bear's iron fist. Turning mid-air the feline landed on his feet and immediately had to dodge the Russian's fist.

He knew he could not defat the bodyguard with his raw muscle power. He doubted that hitting the bear's face stronger would do much as his earlier punch did not do much.

Three more hits. Jack crouched, dodging the first, blocked the second and dodged the third, ready for a counterattack. He locked the bear's elbow with his and he dashed forward, grabbing his knee with his second elbow, while still holding to bear's arm.

The cheetah flipped the bear over himself. Koslov hit the stone chimney with his head, not as hard as the feline wanted.

He let go of the ursine and took a step back as Koslov stood up, bleeding from his head as he growled ferociously, murder in his eyes. If shit before was supposed to be serious Jack did not know what this was.

The bear roared, trying to run into the cheetah, but the feline dodged him with a daintful jump.

The bear turned around and immediately got hit with a chair the feline grabbed. He took a step back and almost tripped over Kevin. Just as he was aviut to regain his balance Jack jumped up and kicked him in the chest, making the bodyguard fall.

Koslov fell hard, but he still protected the shrew, holding his boss. Had this been anyone else and Mr. Big would be squased like a tomato.

"I just wanted to talk!" the cheetah said, panting heavily "But you fucking had to attack me, didn't you?"

"Koslov, make him hear me." the shrew said, his voice barely hearable

The bear made a tiny slit so that the shrew could talk with the cheetah.

"What do you want?" Big asked

"How about we discuss this like civilized animals?" the feline asked

"Koslov, put me on the desk."

The bear got up and put his boss on the desk, standing behind him afterwards. Jack picked up the undamaged chair and sat down too.

"I have only one question. Then I'll leave you alone and we can forget this happened." Jack said, pulling out hia phone

"Or I call Dixon and we put a few bullets in you." Big replied

"And he finds out how you and Koslov got here." the feline snapped "If I don't exit the photos will be sent to them."

"W- What photos?" the shrew asked, keeping a straight face

"You know well which ones." Jake replied, not revealing how relieved he was

"Okay then, what do you want to know?"

Jack selected a photo from the gallery on his phone and showed it to the little animal.

"Is this Vincent's plan?" he asked

Mr. Big analized the corkboard, the map, the pins and the post-its and slowly nodded.

"How on earth did you get it?" he asked

"Doesn't matter." Jack replies, his voice not breaking fortunately

If this was the plan Vincent really could do it. The feline and the lupine did not sleep, analyzing it and wondering if it would work. The results were terryfying. In most scenarios the plan resulted in crippling the Phoenix and most of them dead. None of them assured a really good victory and there was a small, very small chance of Vincent actually winning the fight.

"Is this really all?" the shrew asked

"You don't know the value of this information." the cheetah replied, looking for Dimitri's number

He stood up and went out of the room, calling the Russian. He picked up almost immediately.

 _So what did he say?_

"It's real."

 _Fucking hell..._

"You sure you can bring R into this?"

 _If there's an animal that can it is me._

"I hope you're right. It's our only chance."

 _You have no idea how much I hope I'm right._

"Can't disagree. Break a leg."

 _No, thanks._

The wolf hung up and picked up his binoculars. Putting them to his eyes he looked at the precinct yet again.

A few officers, some smoking, some eating and a few talking with each other. Fully relaxed, unaware of what was going to happen soon.

Dimitri sighed, knowing what he had to do to make them prepare for the assault. No matter how good he was, he needed the support and cops ready for action.

He went out of his car, parked a few meters from the precinct and went to its trunk, opening it. He removed the flase bottom and sighed.

He took the tactical harness and put it on. He already had his vest, under his fleece. Then he took the spare magazines and put them into the pockets of the harness. Then he attached the pistol and the knife, leaving the VSS until the end.

One big advantage of the street being blown was no manoeuvrability for anyone who wanted to advance. With good cover the wolf could seriously decrease the agressor's numbers.

He took a duffel bag and closed the trunk. Then he came over to the driver's door, opened it and put the bag on the seat. With the door still open he leaned the VSS on it and aimed at one of the officers.

His finger moved from the frame of the weapon to the trigger. He moved the gun slightly to the left and fired.

A silent cough and the cigarette the grizzly was smoking quite literally disappeared. The bear jumped back, with all the other officers as they felt the bullet fly.

They quickly ran back inside the precinct. Dimitri moved his gun to the left, smirk appearing on his face when he saw three black cars driving towards the precinct through the scope.

He aimed at the windshield, alinging the traingle and the driver's head and pulled the trigger. 9x39mm easily blew the back of his head, covering the windshield in coweb of tracks. He fell on the wheel, making the car drive off the road, hitting a building next to it.

Both other cars stopped as their drivers got as low as they could. Dimitri did not shoot blindly, saving ammo for later.

Slide doors opened and two smoke grenades were thrown from both cars, quickly blocking the vision on the street.

Dimitri scoffed, pulled out thermal vision googles from the duffel bag and put them on. The first three animals that run out of the nearest car must have been surprised when one of them fell with a loud thud.

They did not stop however and even though Dimitri took another two down they quickly countered with automatic fire.

 _Bastards are well equipped._ Dimitri thought as 5.56mm bullets flew right by him, despite the smoke

He put down the VSS and pulled out an AS Val and a flashbang from the bag. Moving to the passenger's seat he got out of the car and quickly dashed to nearest cover. As soon as he crouched behind the car a few bullets ricocheted off the body, right where his head was just a second later.

The wolf disabled his thermal vision, took the flashbang from his pocket and threw it where he supposed his enemies would see it.

Right after the grenade exploded he turned his goggles on and ran out of his cover, taking out one animal immediately. Two more fell as they tried to look for him, getting up.

The wolf jumped inside an alley, a few bullets hitting the corner. Had he been slower he would be hit.

No more flashes. Now it was up to the police.

Dimitri smiled as his calculations were correct and a few shots were heard from the precinct.

He did not wait for the agressors to respond and went in, three quick shots taking down three more animals. Now it was pretty much decided. The cars they arrived in were big enough for five average-sized animals. He had taken seven out and destroyed their chance of retreat as he took two more out when they tried to go back to their cars and exfil.

The rest quickly got pinned down in a crossfire. Six of them. Absolutely helpless. The wolf took them down with a few shots and then it was only him and the cops slowly approaching him.

"ZPD! Put your weapon on the ground and slowly lie down!" one of the officers said, aiming at him

Seeing that he was prey Dimitri unloaded the magazine, ejected the bullet from the magazine and did as he was told.

Two officers, both wielding shotguns and wearing SWAT gear slowly approached him, took his goggles off and cuffed him.

The wolf used a few seconds he had to examine their equipment. He was sure they were with the prides. The logo on their helmets confirmed it. An encircled clenched fist.

 _Wait, not a special task force?_

That was surprising. The lupine frowned and got lost in his thoughts, missing the process of getting him in the database, searching him and putting him in a interrogation room.

He had two conclusions. Rick Dixon did not fit into any of those, not because he usually had no idea what the fuck he was doing, but because he would not waste his equipment.

 _Cheap bastard..._ the wolf thought as a boar ZPD officer in front of him was talking about something

Either Vincent totally in charge or the mob agreed to his demands and listen to everything he says. Option two was almost impossible as the crime bosses had their ego, especially Rick Dixon

"Are you listening to me?" the boar got him out of his thoughts

The wolf looked at him.

"Give me your boss." he said

The boar scoffed "You are in no position to make demands."

"As far as I am concerned, you want something from me." the Russian replied, putting his feet on the table between them

The boar frowned, squinted at the lupine and left the room. A few minutes later a water buffalo walked in, sitting down on the chair.

"Looks to me like you have a big ego." the chief said

"Every offer has its price." the wolf replied

The buffalo frowned and opened his mouth.

"You are being targeted." the wolf anticipated the buffalo

"By whom?"

"The mob. Led by MacArthur. You know who attacked you and you know who would react to that the way I did."

"Are you with the Phoenix?" the buffalo asked

"Who can access spetsnaz weapons?"

Bogo barely stopped himself from opening his eyes wide. If the Phoenix was desperate enough to help the ZPD the situation was way more serious than it would seem. Three cops under intensive care was scary already.

"What do you mean by 'targeted'?"

"Are you interested in my offer?"

"I haven't even heard it yet."

"We help you with the mob, you leave us alone for some time after the dust settles." Dimitri explained "Also, this is not recording. Our hackers broke into the system and all they hear is us discussing where I got those weapons. The script was sent to your private phone."

"That's very bold of you to assume I'd accept right off the bat."

"You don't have much choice now, do you?"

* * *

"How the fuck did he afford that?" the buck wondered, going around the room

The highest level of Oasis Palm hotel was the best designed. Floors and furniture made out of tropical wood, real leather and wool. Of course the conference room lacked them, but the table and the chairs still were expensive. Not to mention the bar and the snacks.

"If he pays, who cares?" the wisent replied

"Not me, that's for sure." the ram mumbled, drinking another glass of whiskey

Rick sighed and walked around the room.

"We should've done it differently." he said

"What?"

"Harry. Look how much shit is breaking just because of the power vaccum."

"It escaled too quickly." Koslov replies

"No, it didn't." Felix disagreed "We had him. The lynx played us."

"He's good." Jones said, nodding

"I still can't believe you got caught." the ram said

"Unpredictable situation."

The wisent scoffed "You know I can deliver without any problems, right?"

"I prefer other's product."

"Jesus. It's not about your preferences, it's about your security. You almost got blown to pieces."

"But I didn't."

"Where the fuck is he?"

"What he's doing is showing his power. He knows we need him and wants us to believe he doesn't need us." the zebra stated

"Why do I have to work with a fucking snowflake?"

"About the pay..." Rick said, approaching the ram

"Five million per shot."

"We agreed on ten." the buck said, crossing his arms on his chest

"I'm not going higher. You're getting five."

"You sure about this? I can-"

"You're getting five." Jones cut in

"You don't-"

"Five."

The buck stared at the zebra for a moment and scoffed after some time.

"Fine. It'll be five."

The door opened and the lynx walked in. He wore a worn red hoodie and a pair of tattered jeans.

"Well, if you're all here we can begin our group therapy seesion."

"We called you because-"

"Shit blew up."

"No, because the ZPD attack failed."

The lynx chuckled. The chuckle became a laugh pretty soon.

"What's so damn funny?" the bunny hissed

"Do you actually think it was supposed to succeed? The street was blown the fuck up yesterday, we had no advantage, no manoeuvrability. It was supposed to fail."

"You wasted our mammalpower, that's what you wanted to say?"

"You call it a waste? None of them smokes outside the precinct now. None of them goes on a patrol without a lethal weapon. They feel threatened. Scared. Some of their colleauges are under intensive care. You think that doesn't affect them? It does. I'm planting a feeling of fear deep into their minds, a fear of death and serious injury. Psychological warfare. Ever heard of two words that complex?"

"Attacking only the ZPD won't bring chaos."

"Turn on the news."

"Wha-"

"ZNN."

All the animals looked at each other, unsure what was going on. A few seconds have passed until they finally did what the lynx said.

 _We're now near the Prey Rights Council HQ where a savage predator has attacked a prey. You heard me right, a savage predator._

The view on the screen changed to the parking in front of the PRC building. A few cars were behind yellow police tape, with many officers around, probably collecting evidence.

 _Right there, not as long as fifteen minutes ago a husky attacked a sheep guard while he was unloading the cargo. The guard is not in hospital. We were not allowed information about his condition, but another guard claims he got mauled pretty bad._

The camera switched to a sheep with a guard cap. He was in a guard post.

 _He just... Jumped at him out of the sudden and bit into his arm... Then he begun using his claws... Oh god, the way he slashed... Blood was everywhere. When I managed to tranq the dog I finally saw what he did and... I really wish I didn't._

Camera switched to the reporter again.

 _Although the officials haven't responded to the incident yet many other figures did._

The lynx turned off the TV.

"You got the message already. A prey is shitting on the predators right now, building up the tension. ZPD will take him to the hospital and find out that the cure for the earlier serum doesn't work."

"So we have nothing to worry about?" the ram asked

"We fucking have." Rick said "That bastard took my guys without telling me. No information had been given to me until a few hours earlier."

"I need full control." Vincent replied "And I have full control, which you can do nothing about, even if you wanted to." the feline slowly walked towards the rabbit "So you better behave. I don't need any of you anymore. I say one word and you bite the dust, or worse, you are in the shit you created in the city."

The lynx finally got to the bunny, successfully intimidating him and everyone else. It was a skill he worked on a long time. At this level only his presence was needed to make a group of animals shit themselves. He waited for a second, devouring the fear and continued to talk:

"Now your job is to sit on your asses and do fuck-all. You don't ask questions, you don't call me, you don't meet me, unless absolutely necessary. The last thing I need is you sticking your dicks where they don't belong."

The feline finally disabled his aura and slowly begun to walk towards the door.

"Can you at least tell us what will you do now?" Felix asked

"Break the ZPD." Vincent replied

"In two days?" Jones asked

"Five, or less." the feline replied "But I could do it in two days, given enough animals and equipment."


	28. Chapter 28

**CHAPTER 2** **8**

 **SMUT ALERT - IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ IT SKIP TO THE NEXT CHAPTER**

Nick gently woke the bunny up. She fell asleep on his shoulder while they were taking the subway to Nick's apartment.

"Are we there yet?" she asked, yawning

"It's the next stop." he replied

"When will we take my stuff to your apartment?"

"Well, my schedule for tomorrow is full, so I guess the day after tommorow."

Judy frowned "We're still off duty."

"But not off spending time with my beautiful girlfriend." he replied, with a loving smile

Jusy blushed.

"Do you have any plans?" she asked seductively, moving a little closer to him

Nick looked around the subway car, realizing it was only them.

"I do." he replied, moving his muzzle closer to her

"Wanna tell me about them?" she asked, looking deep into his emerald eyes

"They are very flexible." he replied "Depends on what you want."

"Do they involve a lot of cuddling and kissing?"

"Oh trust me, they do."

Judy was ready to kiss him, but the train begun braking, making them grab the nearest pipe and almost fall on their seat.

They quickly regained their balance and went out of the subway, going to Nick's. It was rather late, a few minutes until ten PM.

After a few minutes they got to Nick's apartment house and took an elevator to his floor.

Nick unlocked the door and let the bunny in first, closing it right after that.

"So, is there anything my bunny wants?" he asked, entering the living room

Judy sat on the couch and turned to him.

"There's this one thing..."

Nick smiled and slowly walked towards her, sitting next to her.

"There is? Tell me about it."

Judy smiled and looked at him seductively.

"Oh, it's just one thing..."

"Yeah?" he asked, moving a bit closer

She moved closer too, putting her mouth next to his ear.

"It's... It's you." she whispered

Nick froze as she moved back and looked deep into his eyes. For a moment he just analyzed what she said and after that he looked deep into her amethyst pools, looking for confirmation.

And he found it.

It was lust, nothing less.

"Nick, I... I want to mate." she said as she saw a loving smile form on his face "I... I cannot wait any longer. Since spring I-"

He silenced her as his lips touched hers, surprising her with it. She did not resist, closing her eyes and letting his tounge in, as they kissed passionately. Her arms moved behind his head, deepening the kiss. They lasted like that for a while, feeling like it was only them.

They finally broke the kiss, both panting heavily.

"Is... Is this really happening?" Judy asked

"I... I think so." Nick replied with a smile and kissed her again

Judy felt butterflies in her stomach when their lips connected again and he gently pushed her down on the couch. She felt him become more aggressive, his claws slowly extracting as he run his paws through her lower back, but that only made her more horny.

They broke the kiss again, a string of saliva between their mouths. Nick panted heavily, feeling like he finally was awake. Something deep inside him was on fire, shutting off his reason and leaving only his instincts. Something behind a bareer of mist in his mind probably tried to tell him that it was good, but he ignored it. What mattered right now was the moment and the bunny laying beneath him.

Judy stared at him with a mix of shock, amazement and love. She felt something about him was different. Out of the sudden he got more dominant over her and she absolutely loved it.

"Seeing something you like?" Nick asked with a smile

"One handsome fox." Judy replied "Why are we stopping?"

Nick was just about to continue, but instead he lifted her and carried his bunny to the guest's room, placing her on the big bed.

"I prefer this place." he said "The bed is very big and we can do whatever we please."

Judy smiled "What's stopping you, then?"

Nick chuckled and jumped on the bed, kissing her aggressively, whilst reaching for the buttons on her shirt. Judy helped him, throwing her shirt away when they were done.

Nick broke the kiss, about to ask her if he could remove the bra, but she already did it for him, tossing it to the side.

The fox's mouth begun to water when he saw them. Her breasts may not have been the biggest, or the roundest he saw, but for him they were perfect, ideally fitting the bunny's body.

"They're pretty small, aren't they?"

Nick blinked and looked at her with disbelief.

"Judy... They're perfect..."

The vulpine leaned in and placed a lot of kisses on her collar bone, wile his paws moves on her two female beauties and gently squeezed making her moan.

This was the cutest sound the fox had ever heard. He squeezed yet again, wanting to hear her again. The second time she did something took over him and made him gently bite her shoulder.

That felt so good to her. She did not know why, but her brain decided to convert the pain to pleasure. With every bite dopamine raced through her brain, making her unaware of anything but the fox.

Meanwhile Nick went lower and lower, until he stopped near her breast. Something took him over again, as he begun to lick her breasts.

Judy moaned louder, grabbing the fur on the back of his head. She gasped as he gently bit her nipple, making her discover even higher levels of pleasure.

"Nick... I... Lower, please..."

The fox moved back and looked at her with seriousness in his eyes. She gulped and nodded, blushing heavily.

He gently pushed her on the bed and moved the trail of kisses down, removing her pants at the same time.

He stopped and saw her panties literally soaking. She was extremely wet.

He grabbed them on the sides and slowly slid them down. Strings of her female arousal extended, connecting her little pussy and panties.

Nick threw them to the side, laying down and grabbing her legs. He gently pulled her towards him, putting her legs on his shoulders.

Now he looked at her, awaiting her permission. His bunny nodded, with a hearable gulp.

The fox begun with one long lick, fully tasting her as his rough canine tounge ran through her slit. Judy moaned loudly, grabbing the duvet tithtly.

"You taste delicious." Nick said, with a grin

And then he truly begun. His head went down as he begun to furiously eat her, not giving the bunny even a slightest chance to prepare. He went from one to one hundred immediately.

Judy gasped and moaned, a little silenced by fox's slurping. His tounge went in multiple ways to please her, making a lot of different patterns as the fox explored her, looking for the sweet spot. He changed his methods, from circles to zigzags, from zigzags to straight lines, from straight lines to going deep inside her.

Judy could not stop her climax for long. Nick ate her out too passionately and furiously.

"N... Nick, I... I think... God... I think I'm... Close..." she somehow managed to say between the moans

Nick seemed not to hear this as he did not stop, keeping up the pace.

Judy finally hit her climax, moaning heavily as Nick licked every last drop of her female arousal.

After he finished he moved back and licked his muzzle, cleaning it off her juice.

Judy just laid on the bed, trying to come back into reality. She never supposed that level of pleasure was possible. The bunny slowly got up, sitting on the bed.

"Shall we continue?" her fox asked with a sly grin

She came closer and kissed him passionately, feeling how wet his muzzle was. She did not care though, fighting his tounge with hers.

Nick pushed her on the bed again, unbuttoning his shirt as they kissed. The bunny helped him and soon his shirt was laying on the ground, while the bunny ran her paws across his chest fur, feeling his strong muscles.

Nick quickly removes his pants, leaving only his boxers. He stopped there, breaking their kiss.

"What happened?" Judy asked

"I just thought you may want to do this." he replied

Judy looked down, at his crotch. The enormous bulge on his boxers couldn't be missed.

"Actually..." she said and leaned down, placing her paws on the sides of his underwear

She slid them down, freeing his fully erect cock. His memer sprung, already out of the sheath.

Its size both fascinated and terrified the rabbit. Her mind was divided. She wanted to experience him fully, but at the same time her reason doubted she could handle his member.

"You're huge..." she said, gently grabbing it and slowly stroking

"Honestly, it's considered rather mediocre."

Judy looked him in the eye.

"Are you serious?"

"Talking about size difference."

"Can you... Uhm... Take the lead?" she askedz blushing

"You want the big, bad predator to get inside you?" he asked teasingly, pusing her down on the bed

"I do." she confirmed, gulping as she felt his tip sliding across her slit

"Then get ready, because the night is about to get Wilder..."

He slowly pushed in, making both of them gasp.

"You're... You're... So... Tight..." Nick panted, slowly pushing deeper

"No... You're so... Big..."

Nick growled as he was halfway in. The feeling was overwhelming for both of them. Judy never felt more pleasure in her life, while Nick never though how different it would be. He had been with a few other females, but this time it was something else.

"Yes, please... Nick..."

Nick finally pushed to the base of his knot.

 _That rabbit is so damn tight... I'm already almost coming..._

"This... This is the furthest I... I can go, Carrots. You think you... can take it?"

It hurt a little. But on the other paw she never felt so much pleasure before.

"Yes..."

Nick nodded and after a deep breath he begun to pull out. And then in again. Judy made cute moans both ways. Slowly he made a rythm, trying hard not to cum too soon. He wanted to make her first time special, to make it unforgettable for both of them.

Judy wanted the moment to last. She was so blissful, so good... All she could do was just lay on Nick's bed and moan as the fox she loved claimed her.

"Nick... I... I think I'm... Close..." she said after what felt like eternity

"Good..." he replied

Through it all Nick felt something awakening deep inside of him. He did not think about it at first, but now it was way kore obvious. Still, he could not focus now.

"Oh... Oh god.. Nick..." Judy moaned as he sped up "Deeper..."

The fox groaned, slamming his knot on her entrance. All the doubts he had about it entering her were gone. He was just... Doing it.

"Yes... Nick... Oh yes..."

Feeling that it was the finish the fox pushed in the knot, with a growl. Judy almost screamed with pleasure as it entered her and wrapped her arms around him. She felt something weird on his back, but she could not focus on that at the moment.

"Oh god... Nick..." was all she could say with her legs shaking

And then he came. The fox erupted inside of her, kissing her at the same moment. Judy grabbed his fur and closed her eyes as fireworks exploded in her head as she felt his warmth inside of her. It felt like passion. Security. Love. Nothing but them existed at thd moment.

After five minutes their hearts and minds finally calmed down enough to realize where they were again.

"Nick... That... That was... Thank you..." she panted, with a wide smile on her face

"Anything... To please... My cute bunny..." he replied with another smile "Guess... Guess I'm allowed to... To say that now?"

Judy giggled "I guess... You're still inside... Of me?" she asked, feeling his veins pulse

"That's... That's the knot... It's a canine thing..."

"Feels... Really good." Judy smiled

Nick laid down on the bed, next to the bunny.

"Anyways... You have any... Naughty dreams you'd like to try out with your big, bad predator?" he asked with a suggestive grin

Judy blushed "What about you?"

"My only dream was you."


	29. Chapter 29

**CHAPTER 2** **9**

Judy squinted, after sunlight woke her up as the sun shone on her face. She groaned and turned around, burying her face in Nick's fur.

 _Wait a second..._

The rabbit opened her eyes and saw asleep Nick, completely naked, holding her in his strong arms. It was a pleasant surprise. The room was filled with the smell of love making. Judy recalled the events of the night before and smiled. Her dream came true - they finally were mates.

She felt so peaceful. Like nothing could ever hurt her while she was in his arms.

The bunny tried to retract from his arms and see the hour, but as soon as Nick felt her pulling away from him he hugged her tighter, with a growl.

Judy held her breath nervously, until she realized why he did that. It had nothing to do with savagery, he just wanted her close and refused to let her go.

 _It's not like we are on a tight schedule today, anyways._ she thought, closing her eyes and breathing in his scent

Nick yawned and slowly opened his eyes.

"Morning, handsome." Judy said, kissing the top of his nose

"Morning, beautiful." Nick replied and smiled, caressing the fur on her cheek "Did you sleep well?"

"I did." she said "You do know how to treat the lady."

Nick chuckled "We made quite a mess, didn't we?"

Judy blushed. The smell of the room was enough to confirm that. Nick pumped her full of his seed.

"I'll change the sheets later."

"You're so damn innocent... How about a second round?" Nick asked, with suggestive look in his eyes

"I'm considering it." Judy replied "But not now. Maybe later. If you're a good foxy."

"I'll be a grade A citizen, officer." the fox promised "Anyways, is there anything you'd like to do today?"

"The idea of staying in bed late with you sounds really good to me today." she replied "Especially because we don't have much to do today."

"Anything else?"

Judy thought for a moment "Well, we have a whole day ahead of us to study all the differences between foxes and bunnies..." she said, moving her muzzle coser to Nick's

"All the differences?" Nick asked

"Every single one."

The rabbit kissed the fox passionately, allowing him to pin her to the bed. They explored each other's mouths with their tounges.

"Later?" Nick asked, after they broke the kiss "You are fast to change your mind, Judith Laverne Hopps."

"How can I resist a fox like you, Nicholas?" she asked, pulling him into another kiss

The mood got destroyed immediately by Nick's phone.

"God damnit." the fox groaned and reached for it, looking who was calling

"Is it the chief?" the bunny asked

Nick did not answer. Instead of saving numbers of animals important to him he remembered them.

"Nick, is everything alright? Who is it?" the bunny asked

"Judy. I'm going to explain everything after I answer the call, alright? Ask me about everyting you want." Nick said and left her, walking inside the kitchen

The fox closed the door and answered the call.

"What is it, Honey?" he asked

 _You gotta run._

The fox made sure Judy was not listening.

"Why? Who is it? Or what is it? Is it Dan? Big? Anyone else?"

 _I have no idea. I intercepted some radio chatter where animals talked something about your adress and a kidnapping.  
_

"Shit... Okay, thanks."

 _Stay safe._

The badger hung up. Nick took a deep breath and walked into the guest's bedroom again.

"Judy, we have to go."

"What? Why?"

The fox got down, grabbed her paw and looked deep into her amethyst pools, with a serious face expression.

"Please, trust me on this one. We need to take a shower and then get to precinct one. I'll tell you everything there."

The rabbit drummed her fingers on the bed and sighed.

"Alright. But no withdrawals. Everything, no matter how bad it may be.

"Okay. Eat some breakfast and I'll shower."

Judy nodded and went to the kitchen, while Nick went to the bathroom. After he finished he went to his room, instead of the kitchen and removed some floor panels.

 _Thank god I didn't throw it away..._ he thought, pulling out the cardboard box

He put on a rather thin vest Danila gave him a long time ago. Then he put a knife next to the hole in the floor and after that he put the box back where it belonged.

After putting the panels back in their place the fox went over to his nightstand and opened one of the drawers. He picked up a metal box, put it on the bed and opened it, pulling out a custom made pistol - a final gift from Sapoznikhov.

Then he put some clothes on and hid both the knife and the pistol. He was ready.

When he returned to the living room Judy was still in the bathroom.

Suddenly his phone buzzed. Nick took it, but what he saw made him freeze.

 _Two from the door, three from the fire escape._

No number could be seen. It most definitely was the Phoenix. He took a deep breath and calmed down.

 _Focus Wilde. It's on. They're going to invade your home and get your girl. And you're not going to give it to them._

He felt surprisingly confident. Even though his inner voice was silent he was sure he'll manage.

Nick went to the bathroom door and blocked them with a chair. Just in time.

He heard somebody kicking on the door. All the money he spent on 'fortifying' his apartment, as he liked to call it were not wasted. He had at least five minutes to deal with them.

Right after that two windows were smashed, one in the guest room and one in the kitchen. Nick pressed himself against the wall, right next to the door to the kitchen and aimed the gun at the guest's room door.

Nick breathed slowly and quietly, trying to hear somebody else between the bangs coming from the door. The silence in his apartment made him very uneasy. Waiting for the action was always the hardest part. The action itself? Not so much. He had no time to think about how fighting felt when he clashed with other animals.

"You got a visual?" somebody spoke right next to him

The fox did not react visbly, only his ear twitched a bit.

"Nope. Let's wait until Richard comes in and then look for them." someone else answered

"You think they're here?"

"Probably. I guess in his room, shitting their pants."

"Why not wait for the fucking twins?"

"The boss said not to. Probably so the hostages actually fucking survive."

"Those panthers are crazy bastards."

"Yep."

The guest's room door slowly opened and a hyena with a shotgun walked inside the living room. He looked around and when he laid his eyes on Nick a bullet flew through his belly area. The animal dropped his weapon and fell down, immediately pressing the wound.

The bang alarmed everyone trying to get in. The animals behind the room kicked the door in, aiming their guns where the fox would be just a second ago.

Nick crouched and fired his pistol at the cheeath, who caught a bullet in his leg. He took a few steps back limping with his left leg, blocking a tiger who was with him.

The fox grabbed the cheetah's paw and pulled him towards himself, throwing the feline over him. The cheetah hit the floor with his back, groaning in pain while Nick pushed the tiger's SMG to the side and fired his pistol, losing his targets by millimetres as the attacker barely managed to push the fox's gun.

Nick grabbed the SMG and kicked the feline, whilst pulling the firearm. It fell on the floor as the tiger bent, holding his belly.

Nick tripped his enemy over and turned to the cheetah, who slowly got back to his senses and tried to stand up. The fox put the gun against the feline's head and was about to pull the trigger.

"Nick... Is everything alright?" a weak feminine voice came from the bathroom

He froze when he heard the bunny, looked at the feline wide-eyed and knocked the cheetah out with his pistol. The fox did not believe what he was about to do.

 _God fucking dammit, stop it Wilde! You're not a murderer! Get your shit together!_

He turned around and knocked the tiger out too. Then he headed for the hyena and with a swift blow to the head he eliminated that animal from the fight too.

It was then when his door broke. It fell on the ground with a loud crash and two panthers entered his apartment.

Time slowed for Nick as he slowly analyzed the situation. They had no firearms. Normally he would be relieved, but then he realized who would send mostly felines.

The panthers slowly made their way towards him, pulling out two knives.

 _Now or never._

The fox dashed inside his room, slamming the door behind him. He quickly got to the loose planks of his floor and tore them down, almost shredding the cardboard box. He dug through his things; the combat armor flew on the bed, the glock on the floor, photos, passports and IDs everywhere around him, but then he finally found what he was looking for.

One of the panthers finally opened the door, frowning as he saw the fox holding to a vial filled with a dark blue liquid and a knife. That second of hesitation and surpisal gave Nick the time to react.

The fox opened the vial and drank all of the liquid inside, then turned around, throwing the knife at the feline. The panther had no time to dodge, so he did what he could and protected his chest with his forearm. The knife dug in between the bones, making the feline hiss in pain.

Nick moved forward, dropped the vial and grabbed the handle of the knife, trying to pull it out. He quickly got countered by the feline, who pulled the fox up, with a lot of apin on his face, trying to stick the knife between the canine's ribs.

Nick barely dodged it, dropping the knife. Huge amounts of noradrenaline got released into his system when the knife moved towards him at dangerous speed again, almost catching his belly.

The panther attacked with ferocity the fox had not seen in a long time. Finally the skills he mastered for so long came in handy, as he barely dodged the knife. The panther surely knew what he was doing.

Then the most unfortunate happened. The fox stepped on one of his false IDs and slipped, falling on the floor with a surprised look on his face.

The panther used the opportunity and dashed forward, pinning the fox to the ground with his weight. He tried to put the knife in Nick's throat but the fox blocked the panther's forearm with both his, using everything he had to push the knife away, his mind desperately looking for a way out. The blade slowly moved lower and lower, it's end almost touching Nick's neck. And finally, in the last moment he found a way out. The fox slowly reached for his knife, still stuck in feline's forearm and grabbed it in the last second. He immediately begun moving it around, with a huge wave of relief hitting him as he spot the panther's face expression. It was pain.

The panther cried in pain and bounced back, the knife exiting the wound. Theh feline fell on his back, dropping his knife and grabbing his arm, trying to stop the bleeding.

Nick stood up, stumbling a bit. He still held the bloodied knife, a few drops of it on his paw. He wanted to finish the panther off, but then the second feline walked in, growling as he spun the knife in his paw.

The fox quickly moved forward, grabbed the feline's right wrist and bumped into him with his shoulder. The panther still stood on his feet though, blocking Nick's knife right before it reached him. The fox quickly moved back, right before the feline grabbed him. The second one slowly got up, informing Nick that he had little time.

The canine jumped back, dodging the knife, crouched, making the panther miss again and then finally struck, slamming his fist into the panther's solar plexus. He wasted no time then, trying to cut the tendon to immobilize his opponent.

The second panther grabbed him in the last second, preventing the fox from getting an advantage. He wrapped one of his arms around Nick's chest and grabbed his knife-wielding arm with his second arm. Then he took a step back, the fox desperately trying to get out of the feline's grip.

The second feline put a knuckle duster and spat on the ground, a growl following. He slowly walked towards the fox, cracking his knuckles.

Nick waited until the panther got closer and kicked him in the face, downing the one who held him with a feet into the solar plexus. As soon as he was free he turned around, grabbed the wound on the feline's forearm and squeezed hard. The panther cried in pain and fell on his knees, right before Nick's fist slammed into the side of his head.

He might have evened the odds by knocking that feline out, but the second panther used the opportunity. He grabbed the fox and threw him back in the living room. The fox hit the couch hard and as he gathered himself together the panther slowly approached him, condensated anger literally emitting from him.

He attacked the fox. Nick barely dodged the blade, failing for the second and third time. The knife cut his forearm and his cheek, rather deep.

The panther stopped there and kicked the fox in the stomach. Nick flew backwards, but managed not to fall on the ground.

"NICK!" Judy cried right after she managed to open the door, seeing as her partner was about to stick the knife in fox's belly

Much to panther's surprisal the knife entered only a bit, less than a quarter of an inch. Nick thanked god for the vest he put on earlier as he snapped the feline's arm and knocked him out.

The rabbit ran towards the fox and moved his shirt with shaking paws. Her face was pale as she slowly made him lay on the groud, trying to see the wound.

Her relief was huge when she saw it. What could be a deep and fatal injury was a little cut, with blood barely weeping out of it.

"Judy, we have to go." Nick said

The rabbit shook her head, moving his paws on the wound "Keep pressure on it, I'll get some bandages."

"Carrots, we have no time." he replied, slowly getting up "There will be more and I can't really hold them much longer. Dress up and let's go."

"You can't treat me like dead weight Nick, I can handle myself well." she replied "What even was that? Locking me in the bathroom? Seriously?"

"There was no other way." Nick replied "They were too good."

"But not for you, huh?" the bunny asked, crossing her arms on her chest

Nick put his face in his paws and breathed shakily. He knew that blood on his paws would get on his face, but he could not care at that moment. He had to calm down, before his mind would shatter. The bunny unintentionally dragged him back into the hell of his past.

The rabbit immediately came closer and gave him a hug. He could hear her sobbing.

"Shhhh... I'm sorry... I didn't... Didn't want to..." she said between sobs, afraid that she had hurt him "It's all... It's all happened so fast, I couldn't..."

Nick chuckled, hugging her back.

"You bunnies... So emotional..."

They remained like that for a moment until Nick got another SMS. That woke them up.

The fox took the phone from his pocket and read the message.

"More of them are coming." he said and stood up, regretting it immediately as the wound on his belly reminded him of its existence with pain

He almost fell on his knees, but the rabbit was faster. Judy supported him and helped him walk towards the window. She left him there and quickly dressed up.

Afther she returned the bunny helped the fox across the window and then down the fire stairs without raising too much attention. As they entered an alley to get out of here she barely heard a few animals in Nicks apartment, arguing about something. She immediately begun to walk faster, basically dragging the fox behind her, until he begun walking without her help.

They walked through the alley, passing by full trash bags amd piles of shattered glass and then Nick led them into another one. They went like this, switching alleys almost all the time, heading for the precinct.

Just as the fox knew that only one block was left they got stopped.

At the end of the alley a lynx blocked their way. He hed his paws in a navy hoodie, slowly kicking his heels in his ripped jeans and watched as they stopped.

A smirk appeared on his face and soon after that he spoke:

"Excepted you to be sooner, Wilde. Had any troubles in the apartment? Or just too much five guys?"

Nick scoffed "Don't tell me you sent five animals to do the job just so you could make this terrible joke."

"I didn't send them to do the job. Come on, even if you pussied out you still can kick their asses. And you did, since you walk here. A little bruised, beaten-up, but still kicking. I guess you're not the one-punch type, but rather the biting and kicking to his last breath, ain't you?"

"Let us go."

"Or what? I have the streets nearby covered. Seriously, it would be easier if you just gave up and went with me. You already have some wounds, it would be shame if you got more."

"We will get more if we go with you."

The lynx chuckled "You really believe you are fit to fight with a hole in your belly? It's hard to miss that big stain of blood on your shirt. You can't win."

"Wanna find out, you piece of shit?"

"I thought it was a fox thing."

Nick growled, shooting forward. He sttacked the lynx savagely, throwing a punch after a punch. The feline just blocked them, not taking one step back. The fox gradually slowed down, panting as he realized how tiring the fight in the apartment was.

Vincent's swift blow to his face surprised him. He could not even see lynx's fist. He took a step back, noticing that the feline was about to hit him again. He tried to block it, but he was too late. The second hit was more precise, while the first was just an opening.

Nick felt two knuckles land on his nose, making his eyes water. The canine took another step back, feeling how he was losing his balance. The lynx ensured his fall with a kick right to the wound on Nick's belly.

Judy watched in shock as her partner got taken down with three hits. The lynx did not look like he even tried hard.

He reached for his ear and pressed something, saying:

"Get the car."

He took a few steps in Judy's direction, but when he was next to the fox Nick grabbed his foot and tripped him over, climbing on top of the feline. He desperately tried to get a hold of Vincent's neck and snap it, but the lynx quickly adapted to the situation, hitting Nick's kidney with his knee. The fox loosened his grip for just a few seconds, but that was more than enough.

Vincent rolled to the side and kicked the fox in the face, almost knocking the canine out. Then he got up, pinned Nick to the ground by putting his knee on him, grabbed the fox's collar and begun to beat the crap out of the fox. He watched with satisfaction as the fox spat blood after his first hit. He enjoyed the pain on Nick's face as his fist met his face the second time. He put on a wide smile as he imagined his next hit breaking the fox's teeth.

And he would enjoy it if something did not grab his arm. He looked behind himself, visibly confused. His confusion only increased when he saw a rabbit holding his arm.

"You're under arrest." she said, automatically reaching for her pawcuffs, only to realize she did not have them

"Now, that's truly special." he said, chuckling and yanked his arm free

Judy could not react to his moves. He was way too fast. The lynx grabbed her by the throat, lifting her up.

"Now be a nice bunny and wait patiently for our ride." he said, getting up

"The only ride you'll take is the one to priso-"

The lynx clenched his fist, cutting off the air and shutting the bunny up.

"We'll see about that." he replied calmly, tightening his grip even more

A few seconds after that a black limo stopped nearby. A cheetah went out of it. He wore a blue T-shirt and short black pants.

"Get him inside the car." the lynx ordered, walking towards the car

The second feline lifted the fox off the ground and followed Vincent. The lynx entered the back seat, forcing the bunny to sit and held her there, waiting for the cheetah to bring the fox inside, ignoring Judy's attempts to break free. The cheetah put the almost unconscious fox next to the bunny and closed the door.

Vincent finally let go of Judy's throat amd sat down opposite them. The rabbit gasped and breathed in rapidly, until she calmed down.

"Where are you taking us?" Judy asked after the engine started

"You'll see." Vincent replied, putting on a wide smile

He let go of her and took a backpack from the floor. He opened ot and threw a wet cloth at the bunny.

"Clean him up." he said, pointing at the fox "I dont want him to look too bad."

Judy looked at her boyfriend, bleeding from his mouth and nose, with a lot of dry blood on his face. She hesitated after she reached for the cloth and looked at the cheetah, who pulled out a smartphone.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"A little teaser for your chief. And someone else. You see, Dan" he said right after he hit the record button, showing the beaten fox "you're not always a few steps ahead of me. This time I was faster."

The cheetah pushed the bunny to the side, sitting between her and the fox. He wrapped his arm around the canine and switched the camera to the front one.

"You think I would obey the rules and not drag animals important to you to that crazy little game we keep playing, but the thing is most of them are as deep in this as you. Don't you think, Nicky?"

The fox of course did not answer.

"Oh, silly me." the lynx giggled "I forgot! He's out cold. And he's not gonna have a good time when he wakes up. Look at him." the feline grabbed the fox by the fur on his head "Look at the blood in his mouth. Bleeding nose. A knife wound in his belly." he recorded the wounds "Crimson looks terrible on his creamy belly, don't you think, cutie?" he moved to the rabbit, taking the phone into his other paw and wrapping the second one around her, pulling her closer to him

Judy honestly did not know how to answer. The lynx's behaviour was making her very uneasy to say the least. Something was wrong with him, that was for sure.

"Don't call me cute." she said after a while, not able to think of anything better

"You know what, if I am able to see it, I can totally see why Wilde here fell for you." he said and put his mouth right next to her ear "I bet you already fucked, didn't you? I can feel it. Do you think you could enjoy a bunny dick if I killed your foxy boyfriend?" he whispered, with a toothy smirk

Judy tried to pull away from the feline, but he held her too tight. She had no idea how to answer. She was both terrified and angry.

"Oh, don't be so sad. I don't plan on killing you just yet! It all depends on two animals. You see, if Dan comes in to save Nick I'll probably snap your neck, or something like that. That is, if he's successful."

"Why?" Judy asked, almost crying

"If he saves Wilde, but you're dead, Wilde will try to beat him. That's where I come in. Nick distracts Dan, I kill Dan, then maybe kill Nick. Or I just leave him and watch as he goes insane... Yeah, that's a better option. More interesting one."

The lynx let go of the bunny and returned to his original seat. Meanwhile Judy moved closer to Nick and begun to wipe blood off of his face.

"Oh, that's so sweet of you! You know what else is sweet? Bunny liver. Better than any candy. You can belive me sweetheart. While candy is sweeter it tastes less natural."

Judy just listened in fear, trying not to shake, or cry.

"Silly me, I almost forgot! The chief!" the lynx giggled "Well, it's quite simple Bogo. They are the spirit of the ZPD. You know that if I kill them your officers will be grieving. So! Stay out of my way and keep Sapoznikhov out of my way and I won't kill them. Maybe I'll let them have some fun too!"

The lunx put down the phone and asked:

"How does he taste?"

Judy looked at him with visible confusion.

"What?"

"Do you think you're a better kisser than me?" he asked, licking his mouth while looking at Nick

"Stay away. Stay the hell away!" she pulled the fox to her, hugging him tightly

"Oh, that's a good one."

The lynx stopped the recording and took a photo. He looked at it and chuckled.

"It's beautiful." he showed it to the bunny "It perfectly shows us the moment, don't you think?"

* * *

Danila doubted anything could ruin the work of his life. Since he escaped from the labs he worked on it. Slowly built a network of trusted animals throughout the Phoenix. Trained a lot of skilled individuals, ready to die for him. Ripped Zootopia out of the mobsters' paws, preparing the city for his plan. He considered all the possibilities. Prepared countless backups. Many would call him paranoid, but that was the only way with Vincent.

Now, after taking all the precautions he was safe to just lean back and relax.

He looked around the table. Danila was very proud of his kits. Katyosha, sitting next to his wife was on the first year of medical studies and had top marks. So typical of her.

Andrei, just across the table, Katyosha's twin brother. First year of Mechanical engineering, very good grades. Also trained by Danila himself. Very competent and resourceful fighter.

Then Samantha, thirteen years old. She was way younger than the twins, yet she still claimed she almost was an adult. Danila tried not showing her that, but he found it adorable.

Then Cassie, yen years old and Peter, eight years old.

"Hon, are you still with us?" Diana asked, getting him out of his thoughts

He smiled and nodded "Sorry, I zoned out a bit."

"Business?" Andrei asked

"No, it's all good. Heinrich and Jack will both manage before someone more experienced comes." Danila replied

"You plan on exchanging them?"

"I do."

"I thought they knew how to manage, so that makes no sense to me."

"They do know. The thing is they're not that good at it. And they don't like doing it too."

"Well, that's a problem."

"Exactly."

"Guys, it's impolite to talk about business at the table."

"You're right. Sorry hon. So, how are things at the campus, Cathy?"

She smiled when she heard her father used the version of tmher name she preferred.

"Well, it's getting harder and harder, but I manage. Still on top of my class and I hope it continues."

"How about you, Andrei?"

"Mechanical engineering is tough. I like physics, but that is something else. Way harder and more complicated."

"But you understand it?"

"I do. It takes a lot of learning though."

"Many things do." Diana replied

"Trust me mom, it's something else. Physics comapred to this is child's play."

"If you say so. I'm more a an animalst."

"You know what dad? You were really lucky, skipping all that high school nonsense."

"You know I made up for it? I wish I had gone to school. You have no idea how lucky you are to be educated. And I'm not saying it to moralize, I am being honest."

"School sucks."

"Why?"

"Homework. And we do basically nothing."

"You need education Peter. You'll see when you're older."

"You keep saying th-"

The youngest wolf got interrupted when a moose walked into the room.

"Mr. Sapoznikhov, we may have a problem."

Danila frowned. Last time he checked, everything was under control. Vincent was expectable, Jones and the PRC were taken care of and the ZPD couldn't be a threat, even if they wanted to.

 _Something's wrong._ he thought, while getting up _Very fucking wrong._

"Is something wrong?" Diana asked, visible confusion on her face

Danila smiled and fondly caressed her cheek.

"Don't worry. I'll be right back."

Andrei stood up too, despite Danila shaking his head. He followed his father outside and stopped with him right before the door.

"Go back inside." his father ordered

"You can't handle everything alone, dad. You need support, someone to watch your back. Don't you trust your son?"

"You know it's not about that." Danila replied with a bit calmer tone "Besides, we both don't know if I even need it." the wolf turned to the moose "So, what is it?"

"Your brother, sir. It appears that he is in the coffee shop below us, apprehended by the police."

Danila both wanted to kill his brother but also he wanted to breath a sigh of relief at the same time. He did not know what Dimitri did, but that could be reversed by a fine amount of cash going into right animal's pocket.

"Not that bad. Good. Good, good, good."

"Do you have a plan?"

"It doesn't involve you, Andrei. Go back and spend time with your family."

"What about you?"

"It's my job to fix Dimitri's stupidity. He's my family after all. As much as I'd like to leave him with the mess he's created I just can't."

"He's my family too dad."

"Andrei-"

"Dad, please. You don't have to do this alone. You know the best how I manage, you trained me yourself."

Danila sighed. His son was right and they both knew it.

"Fine."

"Improvised tailgun?"

"Good call."

They both went out of the restaurant and doen the escalator.

"Get in and tell the staff to move Dimitri and the cops to the back room." Danila ordered

"The nicer one?"

"Yeah."

Andrei sped up, getting in the coffee shop before his father. He spot Dimitri immediately, sitting at one of the tables with three undercover cops next to him. A water buffalo, a tiger and a wolf.

Dimitri immediately recognised his nephew, however he did not show that.

"Did not expect you here, sir." a goat behind the counter said quietly

"Take that four to the back room." Andrei ordered, covertly pointing at the cops

"Permission to reveal?"

"Granted."

The goat nodded, gestured at one of his co-workers to replace him and went to the cops, while Andrei went to the room. He entered the corridor next to the toilets and turned right after a while. There werwere four doors there, two on the right and two the left. The wolf opened the first one on the right and entered the room. It was rather large, a few buffalos could easily fit around a big, round table in the middle of the room.

He sat on a chair closest to the entrance and waited. After a while the door opened and a buffallo, a tiger and two wolves walked in, looking around.

"Please sit. The boss will be here soon." Andrei said

The cops first led the Siberian wolf around the table, making him sit opposite Andrei. Then they sat, trhe buffalo on the left and the tiger and the wolf on the right.

Less than a minute after that the door opened again and a tall and muscular Siberian wolf walked in. He corrcted his tie and sat next to Andrei.

"The only reason to bring him here is to drag me out and strike a deal. Congratulations. You have done it. Now what is that you want?"

"Who is Vincent?"

One question was enough to change the entire situation. Danila managed not to react however, keeping a straight face.

"He's way out of your league, chief. Leave him for the federals and forget he ever existed."

Bogo scoffed "So you're gonna just watch, huh? You better enjoy the ZPD burning to the ground, because you're gonna be next."

"Burning the ZPD to the ground is not what Vincent will do."

"What?"

"Leaving you alone while causing riots would bring way more chaos. Opposite to Black you won't effectively disperse a crowd."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"That you are an optimist. You try to see good in animals. That doesn't work. You hit them hard, they go away. That works. And this is the main reason why I won't help. You can't asses the risks. You always reach for the necessary measures in the last moment."

"Shame. Because I won't either."

Just before they were about to stand up and leave both of them received an MMS. Both of them picked their phones and chcecked the message.

Bogo showed his surprisal and shock, opposite to Danila, who just watched it, while thinking what he will do to Vincent when he catches him.

The photo showed two animals - a bunny and a fox, familiar to both the buffalo and the wolf. The bunny hugged the fox, looking at the camera, while terrified while the fox just sat unconscious with a hole in his shirt, the area around it soaked with blood.

"Now he's targeting both of us." Danila said and put the phone in his pocket "That changes things."

"I still haven't changed my mind."

"Do you need their heads to do so? Wars ain't won by emotions. They're won by strategy."

"Is this a war?"

"Since Vincent sent me that photo. He knows how I'll react. And I'm not gonna disappoint him."

"What are you going to do?"

"First off, free them. Do not tell your officers about Wilde and Hopps. I'll keep you updated. The details will be discussed later, now we need to act fast."

After those words the wolf went out of the room.

"How'd that go?" he asked his son

"Well... Not great. But not terrible either. Good? I guess. What's our next step?"

"Vincent's got Bogo's balls, so now he'll try to get mine. You go and take your siblings and your mother to the safehouse and make sure they're safe. That's your only task until I get him."

Although he expected more Andrei nodded.

"Roger that. What about Dimitri?"

"He did a stupid thing and now he'll pay. A few days in the arrest will keep any new stupid ideas out of his head for some time."

"You sure you don't want me to help with Nick?"

"Trust me, I won't be able to do it if I'm uncertain about Diana's safety."

"You won't have to worry about it."

"Why do you think I chose you, son?"

* * *

Judy cleaned Nick's face and threw the rag to the floor. Then she buried her face in his fur and tried hard not to sob.

The lynx already told them what was going to happen. However it was hard to believe that they'd be unharmed if they won't do anything.

The biggest problem was that she had no plan. Nick was out cold and nothing suggested him waking up any time soon.

Suddenly the fox gently pushed her to the side, leaned forward, grabbing Vincent's phone and wrapping his arm around the rabbit he opened the door and jumped out of the car. Judy barely caught the look of surprisal on he lynx's face as they flew out of the car, falling a few meters before they hit the thick snow.

"Judy, are you alright?" Nick asked

The bunny was about to answer, but then the cold hit her hard.

"It's so c-cold!"

"We have to move. It won't be long until we either freeze to death, or get caught by Vincent."

Nick stood up and helped Judy get on her feet. They quickly moved away from the road, heading towards the bay. If Vincent would not catch up, they could make it.

The fox dialed Danila's number and put the phone next to his ear.

 _What do you want, Vincent?_

"Dan, it's me! We need help!"

 _There always is a bigger fish._

"That's why you get a harpoon."

 _Triangulate the phone. Now! Do you know where you are?_

"Tundratown for sure. We're heading towards the bay, from the... Northwest, I suppose."

 _Is he after you?_

"Yeah. I don't think we lost him."

 _I'll have someone sent. Don't hang up just ye-_

A snow leopard in a ZPD uniform suddenly appeared, knocking the phone out of Nick's paw. It fell on the ground, where the feline tried to smash it with his foot. What happened was the phone digging into the snow, with basically nothing done to it. The leopard sighed, leaned down, picked it up and cracked it in half.

Nick and Judy tried to run away, but two polar bears with Kalashnikovs prevented them from doing so.

"They're right where you said." the feline reported to his commlimk and turned to the duo "Congratulations. You're going to visit the rich of this world."

After those words he took a few steps towards the fox. One of the ursines gelrabbed Nick's arms and held him still in the meanwhile. The canine tried to free himself, but it was too late. The leopard's fist knocked him out. The last thing he heard before the lights went out was Judy's angry voice.

* * *

"Watch every exit, every Nocturnal district entrance and every Big's possession. We need to find them." Danila said, moving between the seats

It has been a few minutes since the call ended unexpectedly. That meant only one thing.

Suddenly his phone called. The wolf automatically picked it from his pocket and raised it to his ear.

"Who is it?"

 _Why do you want to find Wilde?_

The voice on the other end was disrupted. Danila quickly analyzed the situation and prepared for a mental battle that was about to happen.

"Depends on who's asking."

The wolf gestured one of the animals to track the call.

 _I can't tell you that. And you won't find out about this by tracking the call._

Danila looked at the animal, who aggressively typed on the keyboard. After that he gestured another animal to try and decrypt the voice.

"I won't cooperate with someone I don't know." the wolf stated

The animal who tried to find the caller just shook his head. Danila nodded and turned to the second one.

 _Are you afraid of one little hacker?  
_

 _Hmmm... Rather a female..._

"One little hacker that my IT section tries to get out of our network since I told them to look for any leaks?"

 _'Tried' is a good term._

 _Very likely a female._

"I figured. I know how much damage you can do. I don't trust random animals. You could be one of three hackers that are capable of staying in our networks."

 _How many of them would you work with?_

"One." the wolf informed firmly

 _That's a 33% chance of me being the one you could trust._

 _They're forcing it... Connection with Nick... List of suspects is getting smaller and smaller. Keep playing, you won't even see when you lose._

"First off, it's 50%. Second, I still wouldn't trust you, just work with you."

 _Is 50% not enough for you?_

"It's at least 40% too low."

 _What do I do to persuade you into this?_

 _Wilde's friend._

"I guess you'll just have to trust me."

 _Trust you? You tried to kill Wilde._

 _They know about that play. Shit, I still regret it... Vincent and Dimitri are right. I'm too weak to play this. Or I would be, if I wasn't good enough to destroy everyone who stands in my way.  
_

"'Tried' is a good term."

 _Oh._

The hacker went silent for a while.

 _What the case with Wilde then?_

"He can't die. Not yet."

 _So you plan on killing him later?_

"That's not what I meant. I meant that I can't allow him to die now, but I won't care later."

 _If I told you where he is would you save him?_

"How do I know you're telling the truth?"

 _For fucks sake, we're talking and talking and with every second Nick is closer and closer to death!_

 _Wilde's friend, female, hacker..._

"Honey?"

The animal went silent for a longer while.

 _How... How did you..._

"It's called battle of the wits. You simply lost."

 _I didn't. You don't know where I am._

"Either under the bridge in the bunker, warehouse, dock 15e or the horn of Zootopia." the wolf named all the obvious places

The hacker went silent again. The wolf knew that he had to strike while the iron was hot, or she would just hang up.

"Look, I know where you are. Just tell me where Wilde is and I'll take care of it. There's no point in running away now. "

 _What if I don't tell you?_

"Then I'll get it out of you. It's not much to scramble a few teams. Even less to have Finnick watching." the wolf said, with voice as vold as ice

 _You... You wouldn't..._

Danila smiled. He knew exactly which cards to play.

"I need information and that is the fastest way to get it if you don't talk. Enough shit-chat. I have a professional strike team ready and it really doesn't make a difference if I send them to get you or to save Wilde. The choice is yours."

 _Arena._

The wolf cursed loudly. A few animals looked around, but he could not care.

The arena was an unofficial name for a place where there were illegal animal death rings. Somewhat of a colloseum, only it was not ancient.

"You know what happens if you're bullshitting me."

 _I wouldn't. Not in Nick's case._

The wolf hung up and went out of the room, heading for the garage. If he wanted to save Nick he had to act fast.


End file.
